8th December 2006, 02:14 PM
I'm not too sure about putting discarded materials back on the site they originally came from, whether in a 'silo' or any other type of feature.
If the material came from a research excavation on an exisiting and extant archaeological site then this could be a good idea. However anything from a site that is now developed is unlikely to be welcomed back by the developer/owner, especially if they have previouisly signed over ownership of the material to the museum.
As an aside, this issue remimnds me of the 1995/6 English Heritage excavations at Maiden Castle (Dorchester) whrere the dig team removed the backfill from some of Wheeler's excavations and found within it material that had been discarded at the time by the Dorset County Museum, including North African pottery and a stuffed crocodile.
Beamo
If the material came from a research excavation on an exisiting and extant archaeological site then this could be a good idea. However anything from a site that is now developed is unlikely to be welcomed back by the developer/owner, especially if they have previouisly signed over ownership of the material to the museum.
As an aside, this issue remimnds me of the 1995/6 English Heritage excavations at Maiden Castle (Dorchester) whrere the dig team removed the backfill from some of Wheeler's excavations and found within it material that had been discarded at the time by the Dorset County Museum, including North African pottery and a stuffed crocodile.
Beamo