» Home » Services » Finds services

TWM Archaeology

Tyne and Wear Museums Archaeology provides a comprehensive service for post-excavation analysis of prehistoric and Roman finds assemblages of any size.

Areas of expertise

Our members of staff have expertise in the following areas:

        * Pottery
        * Building material: tile and brick, architectural fragments and wall plaster
        * Small finds
        * Finds illustration and photography

We also have excellent links with a wide range of other specialists and can arrange for your complete finds assemblage to be prepared for publication.

Activities

We will design the project to suit your exact requirements. Activities include:

        * Spot-dating
        * Assessments
        * Archive reports
        * Statistical analysis
        * Full publication reports
        * Research and training
        * Museum cataloguing to MDA standards

Geographical reach

Our specialist area is the whole of Britain from north of the Humber. We also undertake projects in southern England, in particular the south-west.

Size of projects

We can handle projects of any size, from a handful of finds to assemblages from large-scale and complex excavations. We have experience of dealing with material from a range of sites, from on-going excavations to back-log projects, and can edit and up-date existing reports.

Facilities

          * Fully equipped finds processing facility
          * Extensive fabric reference collection
          * Excellent reference library
          * Drawing office
          * Desk-top publishing

Personnel

Paul Bidwell, LLB, MA, FSA, MIFA

Experience
Author of numerous reports on Roman ceramics and architectural material from south-western and northern England over a period of 30 years

Special interests
Roman ceramics, especially from military sites
Roman architecture, architectural ornaments and building materials

Specialist societies membership
Study Group for Roman Pottery
Rei Cretariae Romanae Fautores

Alexandra Croom, BA (Hons)

Experience
Twenty years dealing with finds, from on-site processing to publication, including books on Roman clothing and furniture
Small finds research and publication
Museum storage and documentation

Special interests
Daily life in the Roman world

Specialist societies membership
Study Group for Roman Pottery
Roman Finds Group
Finds Group 700-1700

Ray McBride, Cert Nat Sci, Cert Hum

Experience
Over ten years working with Roman finds
Ceramic specialist on large research project in Bulgaria over five years
Produced specialist software for pottery analysis

Special interests
Late Roman amphorae

Specialist societies membership
Study Group for Roman Pottery
Prehistoric Ceramic Research Group
Rei Cretariae Romanae Fautores

Hannah Lynch, BA (Hons), MLitt, PhD

Experience
Produced assessment of prehistoric finds in museums in the north-east
Carried out a study of cross-Pennine interaction in the Neolithic

Special interests
Lithics

Projects

Major projects include:

Malton (1997)
Greta Bridge vicus (1998)
Bath (1999 and forthcoming)
Hardknott Roman Fort (1999)
Newcastle Roman Fort (2002)
Wallsend Roman Fort (2003)
Bantham Sands, Devon (forthcoming)

Other projects include working on material from Aldborough, Carlisle, Colchester, Cramond, Heybridge, Kinneil, Piercebridge, South Shields, Topsham and Woodbury, Devon, and York.

The most recent and current projects include creating the Hadrian’s Wall Ceramic database; analysing the pottery from the 1975-84 excavations at Wallsend Roman Fort and preparing the other specialist reports for publication; preparing reports on the full assemblage from excavations in the vicus at South Shields; writing reports on the flints, Iron Age pottery and fired clay from Brunton prehistoric site.