Stop Ploughing at Verulamium

18 October 2009

Tony Robinson joins Rescue in the campaign to stop ploughing at Verulamium

On Tuesday 16th July Tony Robinson of Channel 4's Time Team visited Verulamium at the invitation of Harvey Sheldon, chair of Rescue. An article appeared in the Times that morning about the history of the Roman town, the destruction effects of the ploughing and the strong probability that this destruction will begin again shortly unless the Government takes decisive action. The press were invited to join Harvey and Tony at the site. Journalist Maev Kennedy from the Guardian turned up and so did photographers from the Independent, the Guardian and the Hertfordshire Advertiser. Everyone went into the Theatre, from which there is an excellent view of the surrounding fields that are due to be cultivated. Tony Robinson described the possibility of continued destruction by ploughing as "ludicrous" and "a considered act of historical vandalism".

Iraq’s Threatened Archaeology

18 July 2009

RESCUE is concerned by the looting and destruction of some of Iraq's artifacts and monuments as a consequence of the unrule following the current war. The Chair of RESCUE has written to both the United States President and the British Prime Minister expressing our concern. A sample letter is reproduced below. Customs and auction houses ar on the alert to try and spot likely looted material from Iraq, though much is likely to be sold privately. Some of the missing item include: 80,000 cuneiform tablets with world's earliest writing Bronze figure of Akkadian king - 4,500 years old Silver harp from ancient city of Ur - 4,000 years old Three-foot carved Sumerian vase - 5,200 years old Headless statue of Sumerian king Entemena - 4,600 years old Carved sacred cup - 4,600 years old BBC News stories concerning the looting: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/2955421.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/2958009.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/photo_gallery/2947511.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/2958533.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/2966345.stm Mr. G. W. Bush, President, The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C. 205000 U.S.A. 17th April 2003 Dear Mr. President, I write with regard to the looting and in some cases destruction of Iraq's monuments, artifacts and archives, as a consequence of the current breakdown of control in its major cities. As an Iraqi archaeologist has written: "A country's identity, its value and civilization resides in its history. If a country's civilization is looted, as ours has been here, its history ends." It is also a wider tragedy: all concerned with the history of world civilization and the material legacy left to us by earlier inhabitants of the "Fertile Crescent" will be devastated by the fate of Iraq's archaeological heritage. We ask for your assurance that the United States Government will, as a matter of urgency, do its utmost to restrain looting, recover and restore antiquities and prevent their dispersal to individual and institutional collectors outside Iraq. Respectfully Yours, Chair of RESCUE. IRAQ's heritage on British television Back in February(?) 2003 the BBC broadcast a television documentary concerning the threat to Iraq's monuments under...

HMS Sussex

As many members of RESCUE will be aware, considerable controversy was sparked in the autumn of 2002 when the British Government, in the form of the Ministry of Defence Disposal Services Agency signed a contract with an American salvage company, Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. of Florida, to recover bullion from the wreck of 17th century warship, HMS Sussex. The Sussex was lost in 1694 while on her way to deliver the bullion to the Duke of Savoy who was supporting Britain in her war with Louis XIV of France. The wreck lies at a depth of over 2,500 feet in waters which are disputed as being Spanish or International. The agreement, which was originally available at www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page6235.asp, but now appears to have been removed, was controversial because of its explicit 'treasure hunting' character and the fact that the project will be funded by the sale or material and artefacts recovered from the wreck. The agreement with the salvage company acknowledges the U.K. as the owner of the wreck but entitles the salvage company to take between 40% and 60% (depending on the market value) of the proceeds of the sale of artefacts recovered during the salvage operation. The Government has committed itself to a scheme whereby the artefacts will be sold under a joint marketing arrangement and rights to merchandise traded under the name HMS Sussex will be turned over to the salvors in exchange for a royalty. Government expenses are to be paid out of the proceeds from the sales of artefacts or from commission on merchandise, insured by a deposit of £250,000 made by the salvage company. Concern amongst archaeologists was based upon the fact that the project appeared to be centred around the recovery of bullion, rather than the investigation of the wreck for archaeological reasons. Strong objections...

Windsor Fire Station closure threatens historic buildings

16 May 2009

A High Court judicial review decision has brought disappointment to the many Windsor people who have over the past 18 months backed their local council's staunch campaign to save 24/7 local fire-service cover for the town in the face of the County of Berkshire fire authority's proposed closure of Windsor Fire Station, from 8.00pm to 8.00am each night. The Royal Borough [of Windsor] had sought a judicial review on the grounds that the consultation with the local community was flawed, was based on historical figures and did not properly assess future risks and demands as a result of continuing population increases in both Windsor and Slough. The council also contended that the consultation process was defective and unlawful because it did not contain enough information to allow people to give 'intelligent consideration' or 'intelligent response' to the proposal to withdraw night-time cover, and has called on the county's fire authority to reassess its responsiveness to local people's views and safety The presiding judge Mr Justice McCoombe did not uphold the council's contention that the fire authority's original consultation was flawed. Cllr David Burbage, council leader, said that while points of law may have favoured the fire authority, the sheer weight of community backing for 24-hour fire cover should force the authority to change its decision; especially since council taxpayers' money helped to fund the fire service and they deserved to be listened to. The proposed closure of the Windsor Fire Station, each night is a potentially serious threat to the safety of Windsor Castle, the oldest inhabited castle and probably the most famous castle in the world. Fires in historic buildings can start and take hold extremely quickly as shown by the serious fire of 1992. The ability of the Windsor Fire Brigade to attend the Windsor Castle fire so promptly, within 1.5 to...

A Barrage Too Far? Green energy will cost too much

1 March 2009

On 27th January 2009, the Government announced a shortlist of 5 schemes, from an original list of 10 options, to construct a tidal barrage across the river Severn between south Wales and England. The most ambitious is a 10 mile concrete and rock wall extending from Brean Down in Somerset to Cardiff. This would cost around £15 billion, is estimated produce around 8 gigawatts of electricity - around 5% of the current national consumption. The other alternatives include 2 much smaller barrages close to the line of the Severn Bridges, and two tidal lagoons on the Welsh and English sides. Clearly this is very green energy, but we as archaeologists should be concerned because these schemes will do irreparable to the historic environment. The Severn Estuary is one of the richest, still largely unstudied archaeological resources in the United Kingdom. The extraordinary tidal range of nearly 50 feet, is the second highest in the world, and means that there is an extensive and ever-changing inter-tidal zone. The massive currents create scouring and erosion, continuously revealing new and unknown archaeological sites and features. The Severn Estuary and Levels Research Committee have studied several over the years, and the discoveries of Martin Bell and John Allen of Reading University are particularly well known. Over the last 20 years the estuary has revealed evidence for Mesolithic footprints, prehistoric settlements, prehistoric, Roman and medieval ships, Roman ironworking sites and settlements, as well as more recent activities such as quays, fish traps and hulks. Sites such as Wentloodge levels and Magor are well known for providing a completely new insight into the prehistoric coastal economies of southwest Britain. The English side of the estuary is much less well studied than the...