Wessex Archaeology

Wessex Archaeology is a British company that provides archaeological and heritage services, as well as being an educational charity. Apart from advice and consultancy, it also does fieldworks and publishes research on the sites it surveys. The company has had a long association with the archaeological television programme Time Team.

Wessex Archaeology Limited

Type	Charity, Private company limited by guarantee
Industry	Archaeology Cultural Heritage
Founded	May 1, 1979 (1979-05-01)
Headquarters	Salisbury , UK
Number of locations	Salisbury, Maidstone, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Welshpool (As of June 2011)
Services	Services list Archaeological Survey Excavation Coastal and Marine Archaeology Archaeological Computing Heritage Management Rescue Archaeology Archaeological Consultancy Post-excavation Analysis
Number of employees	120 (2012)[1]
Website	www.wessexarch.co.uk

History

Founded in 1979 as the Wessex Archaeological Committee, its name changed in 1983 to the Trust for Wessex Archaeology.[2] It was one of the first rescue archaeology units in the country, focussing on the numerous sites in and around Salisbury Plain. In 2005, it was renamed Wessex Archaeology Limited, trading as "Wessex Archaeology".[3]

Phil Harding, who appeared on the archaeological television programme Time Team, works for Wessex Archaeology.[4]

Since the advent of developer-funded archaeology with PPG 16 and its successor, PPS5, it has expanded its commercial operations across the UK with offices in Maidstone, and Sheffield. WA opened its Scottish office in Edinburgh in the Spring of 2010. It includes a large marine archaeology department. Further regional offices were opened in Welshpool and Bristol in 2014.

Charity

Wessex Archaeology is a registered charity with stated aims: "to promote the advancement of the education of the public in the subjects of culture, arts, heritage and science through the pursuit of archaeology".[5]

The results of its archaeological investigations are lodged with local authorities, and an increasing number can now be accessed online via Wessex Archaeology's website, or via the Archaeology Data Service's OASIS index.[6]

References

1. Charity Commission. Wessex Archaeology, registered charity no. 287786.
2. Wessex Archaeology. "A History of Wessex Archaeology". Retrieved 7 June 2011.
3. Companies House. "Company Information". Retrieved 7 June 2011.
4. "Ice Age axes found in North Sea". BBC News. 10 March 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
5. Charity Commission. Wessex Archaeology, registered charity no. 287786.
6. Archaeology Data Service. "Wessex Archaeology Unpublished Fieldwork Reports (Grey Literature Library)". Retrieved 7 June 2011.

External links

• Official website