Archaeologist investigates an Anglo Saxon burial chamber at the Medway Crossing on the route of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
Archaeologists and construction contractors have had a difficult and occasionally fractious relationship. Archaeologists need time to study and record historical artefacts uncovered by the excavations for a major project but contractors know that any delay to their programme can be expensive. Building a continuous 74 km stretch of new railway through the historic south-east corner of England presented an unrivalled opportunity to learn more about past settlements, cultures and technologies. The archaeological investigation associated with the £ billion Channel Tunnel Rail Link was one of the biggest ever undertaken in the UK and produced a wealth of new information. The archaeological team was integrated within the project management team to ensure that disruption to construction work was kept to an absolute minimum and this approach was a major success. Careful programming in advance of construction ensured that the archaeologists had plenty of time to record the archaeological deposits on those sites which could not be avoided or preserved within the construction design. The programme and sequence of the archaeological works was decided on the basis of the construction programme. On completion of the fieldwork, expert analysis will be carried out on the records, plans, photographs, artefacts and samples which have been recovered. Eventually a picture will form how our ancestors lived, worked and died within the distinct phases of development of the landscape along the 74 mile route of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. The £ billion High Speed One was built between 1998-2007 and partly funded by the European Union, it forms a section of the Trans European Rail Network.
Size: 2432px × 2430px
Location: Medway Crossing, Kent, UK.
Photo credit: © qaphotos.com / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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