The West Midlands Regional Research Framework for Archaeology is
part of a national English Heritage-funded project to set priorities for
archaeological research in the region (see http://www.arch-
ant.bham.ac.uk/wmrrfa/index.htm). I was recently invited to a meeting
to discuss priorities for the post-medieval period. This was a very
general discussion, a bit short on specifics. My guess is that the final
report will contain some fairly vague nods towards mining archaeology,
along the lines that it needs further study and recording. This will be
fine; I don't think anyone would disagree with this, but I wonder if it
might be possible to suggest a few more specific aims. I have a couple
of thoughts, related to the coal industry.
1) Dating of early, surface workings. Mining earthworks exist in
profusion close to outcrops but we often have no real idea of date.
Without archaeological evidence, there is no real prospect of dating
these workings; if we could do this, we might have a better idea of the
scale and growth of the industry in the early modern period.
The big problem I can see with this idea is methodological; I suspect
vast quantities of sticky clay would need to be shifted to find sherds of
dateable pottery. Are there any alternative dating techniques? Would
the resolution of 14C be good enough? If the mound had fired, could
the burnt clay be subject to thermoluminensce dating? What work has
previously been done? I am out of my depth here; any comments
welcome!
2) Evolution of the colliery surface layout. The International Committee
for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage (TICCIH) came up with
an account of the main features of a typical colliery which Stephen
Hughes posted to this list a couple of years ago. It tried to put things in
an international perspective. For example, for the 20th Century, it talked
about the influence of things like a single engine hall containing all the
machinery, landscaping of buildings etc. How far were these
developments followed in the colleries of the West Midlands? My
impression is that take-up of the new ideas was at best patchy, but I do
not know of any systematic study. Is it worth suggesting a regional study
(which could also include 18th and 19th century colliery layouts?), or is
this just re-inventing the wheel?
Any thoughts welcome.
David Poyner
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