In: News
The Iron Road: Birmingham and the Development of the Railways
November 19, 2019MOLA Headland Community Engagement Officer, Paul McGarrity, explores the rich railway history of Birmingham and recent discoveries made at Curzon Street during archaeological work carried out on behalf of LM for HS2. Excavations at the site of the terminus of the London to Birmingham rail route at Curzon Street station…
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The many lives of objects found along the A14C2H
October 28, 2019Along the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme, we’ve uncovered thousands of items that provide insight into their owners. We have also learnt a great deal about the lives of the objects themselves. In this blog, find out from Senior Specialist in Prehistoric and Roman Finds, Michael Marshall, about a…
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An Emblem of the Immortal Spirit? ‘Salt plates’ from St James’s and Park Street Burial Grounds
October 24, 2019Beth Richardson, Senior Finds Specialist for MOLA Headland, is part of the team of experts analysing thousands of finds recovered during excavations at St James’s burial ground Euston for Costain Skanska Joint Venture (CSjv), and Park Street burial ground in Birmingham for LM, on behalf of HS2. A number of…
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Park Street and the Coffin industry
October 11, 2019Josie Wall works at the Coffin Works Museum, which is run by Birmingham Conservation Trust, as Operations and Volunteer Assistant. Josie’s particular interest and area of expertise is Victorian funerals and the garden cemeteries that opened outside cities in the 19th century. In this blog she explores Birmingham’s legacy as…
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Archaeologists reveal hidden history of Birmingham to the public, as HS2 Park Street excavation ends
September 19, 2019A team of 70 of our archaeologists has completed the main archaeological excavations at Park Street for the new Birmingham terminus of the HS2 railway and will be sharing initial finding with the public at a Heritage Open Days event on 21 September 2019. The extraordinary dig, the biggest of…
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Ask the Expert: Not just any old gridiron
September 11, 2019MOLA Headland Registered Finds Specialist, Owen Humphreys, explores what a Roman gridiron can tell us about cooking technology in Roman Cambridgeshire. One of the largest ‘smallfinds’ from the A14 excavations is a complete Roman gridiron, found deposited in a ditch. Known as a craticula in Latin, gridirons like this were…
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Food or foe? Exploring unusual plant foods along the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme
August 12, 2019Archaeobotanical remains, from prehistory to the post-medieval period have been uncovered along the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme. We know that cereal crops such as wheat and barley were staple plant-based foods at ancient settlements and sites along the route, and we uncovered the earliest physical evidence of the…
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A walk through Digbeth’s history
July 22, 2019As archaeological excavations of Park Street burial ground for HS2 come to a close, MOLA Headland Community Engagement Officer, Andy Sherman, explores the hidden historical treasures of the immediate area in this blog. If you’d like to explore the often-forgotten gems of Digbeth for yourself, then download our self-guided walk….
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Digital recording: Advancing archaeological practice for HS2
July 12, 2019Yesterday evening, the team behind the St James’s burial ground excavation for HS2, celebrated at construction industry awards, the CN Awards, as finalists in the category Best Use of Technology. The multi-disciplinary team – made up of archaeologists from MOLA Headland, expert engineers, archaeologists and construction professionals from Costain Skanska…
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