Wessex Archaeology has a long and proud history of working with the Ministry of Defence on projects within the Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA), and around the UK. Most recently, this work has included supporting the Army Basing Programme at sites throughout the SPTA and particularly at Bulford, Larkhill and Tidworth. The sites have revealed some quite astonishing archaeology, ranging in date from the early Neolithic (before even Stonehenge) to a system of WWI practice trenches. Our work has been financed by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation and managed by their consultants, WYG.
Wessex Archaeology’s Regional Director, Andy Crockett said,
‘The challenges of complicated projects such as these really test the strength of a team. In this case, we have had the pleasure of working with some first-rate people and today we decided it was time to say thank you.’
Andy Corcoran of DIO, Martin Brown of WYG, and Emma Robertson from the WA field team were presented with replicas of the Anglo-Saxon decorated work box discovered by Emma during investigation of a burial at Bulford. The replicas were cast in bronze by Shapeways using the traditional lost-wax method, the wax template itself 3D printed from a digital model created by our illustrator Will Foster.
Wessex Archaeology CEO, Chris Brayne said,
‘Our guests today each made a very significant personal contribution to the success of the ABP project and we wanted to thank them for that. They also helped to maintain a collaborative atmosphere throughout the teams they represent which has helped deliver benefits beyond the regulatory requirements of the project. We would like to extend our thanks and congratulations to all those involved.’