Tom Rees, Rathmell Archaeology
Thomas is a commercial archaeologist based in Kilwinning in Ayrshire. A graduate of the University of Edinburgh and self-confessed prehistorian, Thomas was introduced to field archaeology in school, hunting Roman roads in Yorkshire. Marriage and a young family brought him to Ayrshire where, with his wife, he established Rathmell Archaeology in 2003, a commercial archaeology company. For nearly 23 years Thomas ran the company, undertaking a broad range of archaeological projects across Scotland though with a marked focus in the southwest Scotland. He is the author or co-author of numerous archaeology publications from excavations and surveys, and when feeling bold prepares specialist reports on lithics and coarse stone tools. Earlier this year Rathmell Archaeology was bought by AOC Archaeology Group and Thomas now finds himself running their Glasgow office, which looks suspiciously like the one he was in before the sale.
Tom Rees started by explaining why the creation of an Archaeological Research Framework was desirable. Archaeology is carried out in many different ways by different individuals and organisations. Currently these may include commercial archaeology required before new developments such as roads, housing etc can be started. Then there is academic archaeology, which can be very diverse and published in a wide variety of journals or other media, and also research carried out by local societies, museums, land owners etc. Furthermore, archaeological research has been conducted since the 18th century, often by individuals such as antiquarians, and much of this may have been reported, if at all, to obscure local sources. How can all this diverse information be collated and made available to current archaeological researchers so that, as the title of the talk suggests, we do not forget our past due to an inability to access what has gone before?
A Scottish Archaeology Research Framework (ScARF) was set up in 2012 to address this question at a national level, but it soon became evident that regional frameworks were needed. Southwest Scotland has a lot of archaeology, and is well provided with regional archaeology journals, such as the ‘Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society’. The South West Scotland Archaeological Research Framework (SWSARF), as the logo shows, covers Dumfries and Galloway, Ayrshire, and the Isle of Arran, and provides up to date information on previous archaeological research in the area. Tom Rees pointed out that some areas which may be rich in Archaeology, such as the Stinchar valley in south Ayrshire, have hardly been looked at. Nevertheless, it will be a valuable resource to those planning archaeological work in the area. In particular, it may prove invaluable for orientating commercial archaeology before large schemes such as major road upgrades are undertaken. A case in point was the upgrading of two of the region’s main routes, the M74 and the M77. The former revealed a lot of archaeological sites, while the M77 had almost none.