Buildings Archaeology Group





Background

The CIfA Buildings Archaeology Special Interest Group was reformed in 2003 to act as a forum for promoting the archaeological analysis, research, interpretation of standing structures.

Aims

The group aims to promote the analysis of the built environment and to raise awareness of approaches and methodologies to address the wider role of buildings archaeology with other professionals in built heritage sector by:

  • advising CIfA Advisory Council on issues relating to standing buildings and being consulted during the drafting of new recording guidelines and heritage legislation.
  • producing regular newsletters (two per year)
  • writing articles for the 'The Archaeologist' magazine
  • running training events (seminars, guidance and conference sessions)
  • developing links with associated heritage professionals
  • providing a forum for addressing the wider role of buildings archaeology within the built heritage sector

BAP series

Since 2019 BAG has hosted a successful seminar series, Building Archaeologists in the Pub. First held in York, UK, We hope to transform the series to online talks while the world deals with the COVID-19 pandemic.
We have not had sufficient interest from the membership to enable us to continue, hence we are moving to develop from May 2024 a series of tea break sessions, which will offer us the chance to exchange experience with regard to key issues such as assessing significance. We shall circulate some dates and topics very soon. If you have any ideas or topics for us to consider please get in touch with the committee via groups [at] archaeologists.net or get in touch using our LinkedIn (details below).

Join the group

Membership is free to CIfA members through the Members area login. Those who are not members of the institute will need to pay an annual £10 fee and can join here

Facebook:like the Buildings Group on Facebook
LinkedIn: CIfA Buildings Archaeology Special Interest Group

Committee

Jeremy Lake (Chair)
John Mabbitt (Secretary)
Alison Dickens (acting Newsletter Editor)
Amelia Allen
Amir Bassir
Lorna Goring
Seth Price
Franki Webb
Catherine Bell (Advisor)
Cathy Coutts (Advisor)
Helen Wallbridge (Advisor)

Specialist competence matrix

This specialist matrix is to assist applicants and the Validation committee to see where you demonstrate the grade applied for when working with buildings.

Forthcoming events

For information about upcoming events, please visit our event calendar.

Previous events and publications

  • The CIfA Client Guide 2022 highlighted the economic and social benefit of archaeology. Its theme was buildings archaeology and development and there are case studies on industrial archaeology on Teesside, archaeology in the context of a listed building in the Lake District and a strategic approach to adaptive reuse. The Guide and case study links can be found on the Client Guide webpage.

  • What do buildings do for us? We contributed to an afternoon session at the 2021 Festival of Archaeology, with talks by Jeremy Lake, Catherine Bell, Bev Kerr and Esther Robinson Wild.

  • ‘Stuck between a rock and a hard place’; Defining the role of the buildings archaeologist amongst our peers and the wider archaeological profession. This seminar at the 2021 CIfA Conference aimed to engage with the question of how we can better integrate with the wider archaeological profession, to encourage greater collaboration, and, as an extension, how we can promote buildings archaeology to the wider conservation industry and for others involved in planning for and discovering places.

  • Archaeological Building Recording: Processing and Archiving
    22 June 2018 at Cressing Temple Barns - Talks were be given by Mark Barratt, Oasis Project Officer at Historic England and Louisa Matthews, Collections Development Manager at the Archaeology Data Service.

Three-year plan

Forthcoming

AGM minutes

AGM minutes October 2022

Committee minutes

Committee meeting minutes 8 February 2024
Committee meeting minutes 30 November 2023

Newsletters

Spring 2024
Winter 2019
Summer 2019
Spring 2019

Papers