Headland Archaeology Ltd is a wholely owned subsidiary of the

RSK Group RSK Group is a privately held UK-based environmental, engineering and technical services group, comprising over 175 companies employing some 10,000 people and with turnover of £796m in 2022. History RSK Group was established in 1989 in Aberdeen ...

. Headland provides archaeological services and heritage advice to the

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

industry.

Company history

Headland Archaeology Ltd was established in 1996. Headquartered in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, this company expanded as a provider of

commercial archaeology Rescue archaeology, sometimes called commercial archaeology, preventive archaeology, salvage archaeology, contract archaeology, developer-funded archaeology or compliance archaeology, is state-sanctioned, archaeological survey and excavation car ...

services in the UK. Expansion into the Irish market led to the establishment of Headland Archaeology (Ireland) Ltd in 2000, in Co. Cork. Restructuring of the companies in May and June 2008 involved the renaming of Headland Archaeology Ltd as Headland Group Limited. A new company, Headland Archaeology (UK) Limited, was founded at this time to give, in conjunction with Headland Archaeology (Ireland) Ltd, a coherent structure to the group based on trading areas. The acquisition of Hereford-based Archaeological Investigations Ltd in 2010 expanded its UK operation. Archaeological Investigations Ltd was subsequently assimilated as a regional office of Headland Archaeology (UK) Limited by October 2010, with the underlying company dissolved in September 2012. The company opened a southeast office in 2011, initially in

Leighton Buzzard Leighton Buzzard ( ) is a market town in Bedfordshire, England, in the southwest of the county and close to the Buckinghamshire border. It lies between Aylesbury, Tring, Luton/Dunstable and Milton Keynes, near the Chiltern Hills. It is northwes ...

later moving to

Silsoe Silsoe is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. The village used to be on the main A6 road but a bypass around the village was opened in 1981 at a cost of £1.6m. History Origin The village name is derived from the Danish word ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

, and a northern office based in

Beeston, Leeds Beeston is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England located on a hill about 2 miles (3 km) south of the city centre. The origins of Beeston can be traced back to the medieval period. It remained a small settlement until the latter part ...

in 2015. In December 2011, there was a management buyout of Headland Archaeology (Ireland) Ltd; the Irish company was renamed as Rubicon Heritage Services. The Headland Group was acquired by the RSK Group in March 2019 but continues to trade as Headland Archaeology (UK) Limited.

Registered archaeological organisation

By 2001, Headland Archaeology Ltd had become a Registered Archaeological OrganisationInstitute for Field Archaeologists 2001 Yearbook and Directory. Cathedral Communications Ltd with the

Institute for Archaeologists The Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) is a professional organisation for archaeologists working in the United Kingdom and overseas. It was founded in 1982, and at 21 July 2020 had 3,931 members overall, of whom 3,033 were accredited ...

(reference number RAO40). This registration has been continued and was transferred to Headland Archaeology (UK) Limited during the company re-organisation in 2008. The changing Irish operations of Headland Archaeology never fell within this scheme.

Projects

The following are a selection of projects that the Headland Archaeology companies have been involved with. Note that some of these projects were delivered by Headland Archaeology (Ireland) Ltd which has now left the group.

Major projects

UK * M74 northern extension to M8, 19th century urban and industrial sites *

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

, Edinburgh *The Newbridge chariot, Edinburgh *

Verreville Glass and Pottery Works, Glasgow Verreville Glassworks was established on the north bank of the River Clyde in the village of Finnieston in 1777. Glass making was discontinued in 1842. The buildings of the works, including the 120 feet high glasshouse cone, were converted into ...

* The Inchmarnock Project, monastic settlement, Argyll and Bute *

Whithorn Priory Whithorn Priory was a medieval Scottish monastery that also served as a cathedral, located at 6 Bruce Street in Whithorn, Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway (54.7357N, 4.415954W; OS grid reference NX445405). History The priory was founded ab ...

, a

Medieval priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of monk ...

Ireland *

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

Bypass N9/N10 *N25

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

Bypass *N7 Dual Carriageway

Nenagh Nenagh (, ; or simply ''An tAonach'') meaning “The Fair of Ormond” or simply "The Fair", is the county town and second largest town in County Tipperary in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the ...

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

Archaeological excavations

Road job 448 -Excavations in a road corridor, Ireland

*Dubton Farm,

Brechin, Angus Brechin (; gd, Breichin) is a city and former Royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin was described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Scottish Reformation, Reformation Roman Catholic diocese ( ...

. A wood-lined

souterrain ''Souterrain'' (from French ''sous terrain'', meaning "under ground") is a name given by archaeologists to a type of underground structure associated mainly with the European Atlantic Iron Age. These structures appear to have been brought northw ...

inside an Iron Age roundhouse. *Balblair Cist,

Beauly Beauly ( ; ; gd, A' Mhanachainn) is a village in the Highland area, on the River Beauly, west of Inverness by the Far North railway line. The town is historically within Kilmorack Parish of the Scottish County of Inverness. The land around Be ...

, near Inverness, Bronze Age burial cairn *Bewell Street,

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

*Burgh by Sands,

Aballava Aballava or Aballaba (with the modern name of Burgh by Sands) was a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall, between Petriana ( Stanwix) to the east and Coggabata (Drumburgh) to the west. It is about one and a half miles south of the Solway Firth, and its ...

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall ( la, Vallum Aelium), also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Hadriani'' in Latin, is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. R ...

Roman fort *Carrowkeel, N6 road scheme, Ireland. Early Christian and Medieval settlement and cemetery *

Cowgate The Cowgate (Scots language, Scots: The Cougait) is a street in Edinburgh, Scotland, located about southeast of Edinburgh Castle, within the city's World Heritage Site. The street is part of the lower level of Edinburgh's Old Town, Edinburgh, ...

, Edinburgh. Medieval town wall *

Doune Doune (; from Scottish Gaelic: ''An Dùn'', meaning 'the fort') is a burgh within Perthshire. The town is administered by Stirling Council. Doune is assigned Falkirk postcodes starting "FK". The village lies within the parish of Kilmadock and mai ...

, Stirling, Roman fort * Captain's Cabin,

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and gave its name to an ecc ...

, East Lothian, multi-phase settlement * Cathedral Close,

Hereford Cathedral Hereford Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Hereford in Hereford, England. A place of worship has existed on the site of the present building since the 8th century or earlier. The present building was begun in 1079. S ...

* Gasswater, East Ayrshire, medieval turf building * Giles Street, Leith, Edinburgh. Medieval remains *

Holm, Inverness Holm is a small residential area in the south of the city of Inverness, Scotland. The area lies east of the River Ness. The most prominent structure in the vicinity is the Holm Mills. The mill is known for its contribution to the Caledonian Cana ...

, Bronze Age cists * Grassmarket, Edinburgh * Hackness battery, Longhope, Orkney * Shanzie Souterrain, Alyth, Perthshire. Iron Age underground structure * Straiton Quarry,

Newport-on-Tay Newport-on-Tay is a small town in the north-east of Fife in Scotland, acting as a Commuting, commuter suburb for Dundee. The Fife Coastal Path passes through Newport-on-Tay. The area itself is surrounded by views of the two bridges that cross the ...

, Fife. Bronze Age cremation burials * Park Square Campus, University of Bedfordshire, Luto

*

Perceton Perceton is a medieval settlement and old country estate in North Ayrshire, Scotland, near the town of Irvine. The ruined church in Perceton is one of the oldest buildings in the Irvine district. The earliest legible gravestone dates from 1698, t ...

, North Ayrshire, Medieval Manor * Upper Forth Crossing, Kincardine,

Clackmannan Clackmannan ( ; gd, Clach Mhanainn, perhaps meaning "Stone of Manau"), is a small town and civil parish set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated within the Forth Valley, Clackmannan is south-east of Alloa and south of Tillicoultry. Th ...

. Prehistoric and Medieval remains *

Queensferry Crossing The Queensferry Crossing (formerly the Forth Replacement Crossing) is a road bridge in Scotland. It was built alongside the existing Forth Road Bridge and carries the M90 motorway across the Firth of Forth between Edinburgh, at South Queensfe ...

, Edinburgh and Fife. Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Medieval remains

Environmental archaeology

Clonycavan Man Clonycavan Man is the name given to a well-preserved Iron Age bog body found in Clonycavan, Ballivor, County Meath, Ireland in March 2003. The body shows signs of having been murdered. Theories around the meanings and manner of his death vary. ...

, Ireland *Geoarchaeological Regional Review of Marine Deposits along the Coastline of Southern England *Isle of Bute Master Chronology *Newrath, Co. Kilkenny, multi period wetland site *N9/N10 Kilcullen to Waterford scheme, pH analysis of burnt mounds *

Old Croghan Man Old Croghan Man (''Seanfhear Chruacháin'' in Irish) is a well-preserved Irish Iron Age bog body found in June 2003. The remains are named after Croghan Hill, north of Daingean, County Offaly, near where the body was found. The find is on disp ...

, Ireland *

Ötzi Ötzi, also called the Iceman, is the natural mummy of a man who lived some time between 3350 and 3105 BC, discovered in September 1991 in the Ötztal Alps (hence the nickname "Ötzi") on the border between Austria and Italy. Ötzi is believed to ...

, The Tyrolean Ice man, analysis of his last meal Moirlanich Longhouse thatched roof 2

Heritage management

*Irish Battlefields Project * Ewyas Harold Priory, Herefordshire

Historic buildings

* The

Arnol Arnol ( gd, Àrnol) is a small village typical of many settlements of the west coast of the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Arnol is within the parish of Barvas, and is situated on the A858. Once a thriving township with over fo ...

Blackhouses, Isle of Lewis * The

Dirleton Dirleton is a village and civil parish in East Lothian, Scotland approximately east of Edinburgh on the A198. It contains . Dirleton lies between North Berwick (east), Gullane (west), Fenton Barns (south) and the Yellowcraigs nature reserve, ...

Radar Station,

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

Dunnet Dunnet is a village in Caithness, in the Highland (council area), Highland area of Scotland. It is within the Parish of Dunnet. Village The village centres on the A836 road, A836–B855 road junction. The A836 leads towards John o' Groats ...

, Brotchie's farm steading,

Caithness Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded by ...

* Gasworks,

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

, Ireland. Retort house * Kerse House,

Grangemouth Grangemouth ( sco, Grangemooth; gd, Inbhir Ghrainnse, ) is a town in the Falkirk council area, Scotland. Historically part of the county of Stirlingshire, the town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk ...

, country house of Sir Lawrence Dundas *

Kisimul Castle Kisimul Castle ( gd, Caisteal Chiosmuil) and also known as Kiessimul Castle, is a medieval castle located on a small island off Castlebay, Barra, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. It gets its name from the Norse ''ciosamul'', meaning "castle i ...

Isle of Barra Barra (; gd, Barraigh or ; sco, Barra) is an island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, and the second southernmost inhabited island there, after the adjacent island of Vatersay to which it is connected by a short causeway. The island is na ...

Moirlanich Longhouse Moirlanich Longhouse is a rare example of a cruck frame Scottish cottage. It is located at in Glen Lochay near Killin in the Stirling council area, Scotland. It is owned by the National Trust for Scotland and is open to visitors from May to Sep ...

Killin Killin (; (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cill Fhinn'') is a village in Perthshire in the central highlands of Scotland. Situated at the western head of Loch Tay, it is administered by the Stirling Council area. Killin is a historic conservation village an ...

thatching Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

& vernacular building. * Temple Mains Farm,

Innerwick Innerwick ( gd, Inbhir Mhuice) is a coastal civil parish and small village, which lies in the east of East Lothian, from Dunbar and approximately from Edinburgh. Name The name Innerwick is of Anglo-saxon origin and means inland farm or dwel ...

, farm steading,

* Waverley Mill,

Galashiels Galashiels (; sco, Gallae, gd, An Geal Àth) is a town in the Scottish Borders with a population of around 12,600. Its name is often colloquially shortened to "Gala". The town is a major commercial centre for the Borders region with extensive ...

Industrial archaeology

* Madelvic works, Edinburgh *Mount Pleasant Pipeworks, Woodville, Derbyshire * ROF Rotherwas, Hereford *Shrubhill Tram Depot, Edinburgh

Maritime archaeology

City of Adelaide The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia and is legally defined as the capital city of South ...

clipper - laser scanAtkinson, D 2012 ''Laser Scan Survey and Historic Vessels'', The IFA Yearbook Vol 12, pp. 18 * Leamington Wharf, Union Canal, EdinburghColeman, R (2000), 'Union Canal, Leamington Wharf', ''Discovery and Excavation in Scotland'', p. 57. * A Zulu Herring Drifter at the

Scottish Fisheries Museum The Scottish Fisheries Museum is a museum in Anstruther, Fife, that records the history of the Scottish fishing industry and its people from earliest times to the present day. Opened in 1969, the museum is situated on the harbour front in Anstr ...

- laser scan

References

{{reflist

External links

* http://www.headlandarchaeology.com Archaeological organizations Archaeology of the United Kingdom Archaeology of Scotland Cultural heritage consultants Companies based in Edinburgh Archaeology of Ireland British companies established in 1996 Consulting firms established in 1996 1996 establishments in Scotland