LA @ 50

London Archaeologist @ 50

London Archaeologist published its first issue in 1968. Fifty years later, we took stock to see how archaeology in London has developed, and where it is heading, with five specially extended issues, special prizes and a year of celebrations.

Fifty Years of London's Archaeology
Edited by Victoria Ridgeway, Diana Briscoe, Jenny Hall and Becky Wallower

We're pleased to announce the publication of the papers from the 50th anniversary London Archaeologist conference.

This publication presents a collection of papers written to celebrate fifty years of London Archaeologist magazine, from 1968 to 2018. It presents broad and multi-faceted views of London's archaeology throughout the latter part of the 20th and into the 21st century. It is to be hoped that this will provide a lasting legacy, both for the magazine and for all of those involved or interested in the archaeology of Greater London.

The book costs £21.50 and orders can be placed online through the Pre-Construct Archaeology website.

Please note: Due to the current Covid-19 outbreak, PCA staff are working from home. Online book orders are still being processed, however they may take longer than usual to be dispatched. Orders made by post will be sent after the end of the lockdown.

Special issues

Each issue from winter 2018 through winter 2019 contains a special review of the developments in London’s archaeology over fifty years related to a particular period: prehistoric, Roman, Saxon, medieval and post medieval. All are written by authoritative practitioners in the field. We've had Jon Cotton's review of prehistoric archaeology, followed by Peter Rowsome's article on the Roman period, and in July 2018, Robert Cowie covered the extensive discoveries of the Saxon period over the past 50 years. The autumn issue saw publication of John Schofield's review of medieval archaeology across London and the final special review, by Jacqui Pearce and published early January, covers the post-medieval period, and a wealth of archaeology from Shakespearean theatres to industrial and transportation sites to military remains to cemeteries. The printed editions are with subscribers and can be ordered from the membership secretary - like all our magazines, they will be online about two years after the publication date on ADS.

Anniversary Conference

Nearly 250 people came together on Saturday 6th October to celebrate the 50 years of London's archaeology that have been chronicled by London Archaeologist since its foundation. Fourteen terrific presentations took us through changes in nearly every aspect of the field -- to mention a few: Southwark stalwart Harvey Sheldon, osteologist Jelena Bekvalac, finds specialist Michael Marshall, Eliott Wragg from Thames Discovery Programme, Alison Telfer on the vagaries of health and safety, Roy Stephenson from Museum of London, Prof David Perrett on industrial archaeology, and Sadie Watson on women in archaeology. Inspector of Ancient Monuments Jane Sidell took a pointed look at why we do what we do, before chairing a panel of five directors of leading contracting units who discussed where archaeology might be going in the future.

We are enormously grateful for the collaboration with our partners in the conference, the King's College London Classics Department staff and students who supported the event brilliantly.

The party afterwards was, predictably, very sociable -- offering a great opportunity to catch up with friends and colleagues, and chew over the information, views, ideas and fairly hilarious photos that came together in a truly great day.

Our thanks to everyone involved, from the helpful porters and catering staff to our exceptional presenters. We at LA are very pleased to have been able to offer this landmark event for all in the archaeological community. For tweets and lots more photos have a look at #laat50, and our own Twitter account, linked at the foot of the page.

Golden Tickets update

The latest Golden Ticket event took place at the LAARC on 7th December where Dan Nesbitt took winners Rosemary Turner and Shaun Packham and their guests (pictured right) around the archives. It turned out to be a special tour, as the One Show was filming a piece that morning about the finds on the A14, the incredible site in Cambridgeshire being excavated by MOLA/Headland. The woolly rhino skull (also pictured right!) and mammoth tusk had been brought out especially, and the finds processing manager gave our GT winners a preview of the information he'd be providing for the camera minutes later. The One Show segment (7th December, 11.30 minutes in) is available on i-player until the end of December.

So far, in the first four issues of LA’s anniversary year, 40 subscribers have found Golden Tickets tucked in their quarterly magazine, and 10 more tickets will appear in the winter issue out in January. Gabe Moshenska of the Institute of Archaeology led subscribers Gerry Moss and Sue Smith and guests on a Blitz over Bloomsbury tour in March, and Jonathan Gardner toured the Olympic park with another group. Subscriber Barbara Hurman, aged 92, has found her prize of Londinium and Beyond, the festschrift for Harvey Sheldon donated by the CBA, ‘such a delight’: it reminds her of a short spell spent at Highgate Wood. Ralph Potter chose a travel mug from a selection of LA50 merchandise. Sophie Jackson provided a personal tour of the new Bloomberg Mithraeum in May. Roger Logan of the Isle of Wight is ‘greatly enjoying’ his publication on Kings Cross Goods Yard from PCA. And Josephine Brown, who actually works for PCA, won her choice of publications from MOLA, selecting Roger Tomlin’s unique study of the Bloomberg wooden writing tablets.

LA@50 souvenirs

We’ve even created some LA@50 merchandise. Some of the Golden Ticket winners are receiving their choice, and attendees at the 50th anniversary conference picked up souvenir mugs, notebooks, tote bags and t-shirts.