Artefacts, Conservation, Ecofacts
Background
The first meeting of the CIfA Finds Group took place in November 1989. The function of the group is to represent the interests of finds workers to CIfA and in all the activities of the Institute. Finds Group also:
* advises council on finds related issues and reviews relevant documents etc.
* acts as a focus for all members of the CIfA who have an interest in finds.
* produces a newsletter and holds seminars and meetings, to discuss the latest issues.
We have also produced the documents Guidelines for Finds Work and the Standards and guidance for the collection, documentation, conservation and research of archaeological materials. Plus the toolkit for Finds reporting alongside the other toolkits
Due to the broad field we work in the group focuses on themes such as practice and the relationship between finds and other areas of archaeology. The main aim is to promote finds work constructively within the structure of our profession.
Join the Group
Membership of the Finds Group is open to anybody with an interest in Finds - in the broadest sense of the word. Membership is free to CIfA members.Non-members need to pay an annual £10 fee.
Twitter: follow @CIfAFinds on our Twitter
Committee
Emily Johnson (Chair)
Imogen Wood (Treasurer)
Bekky Hillman (Secretary)
Peter Guest
Nicky Rogers
Helen Wickstead
Anna Tyacke
Mags Felter (Advisor)
Co-options are open for several committee roles.
If you are interested in joining the committee, please get in touch with Meg via groups [at] archaeologists.net before the AGM.
* Committee member role description
Committee Biographies
Margrethe Felter, Senior Conservator, York Archaeological Trust
Mags has worked in the conservation department at YAT since 2005 after completing an MA in Principles of Conservation and MSc in Conservation for archaeology and Museums at the Institute of Archaeology, University College, London.
Mags works on all archaeological materials both freshly excavated and those in museums but has a keen interest in bone and antler objects as well as metals and on-site conservation and lifting of fragile materials. She has attended excavations/heritage sites in Orkney, Turkey, Jordan, Azerbeijan and Turkmenistan, as well as sites closer to home. She recently spent a month in Copenhagen, on a continuing professional development placement at the National Museum conservation department.
Mags is also an Accredited member of ICON (the Institute of Conservation).
Dr Imogen Wood
I am a pottery specialist and petrographer based in the South West of England with 25 years of experience in regional Prehistoric, Romano-British and early medieval ceramics. The development of my career from field archaeologist through doctoral research onto running my own business has enabled me to pursue my own research interests into the early medieval period in Cornwall through excavation and new sociocultural approaches to interpreting the results of petrographic analysis. I am passionate about disseminating archaeology and have taught part-time at Exeter University over the past 10 years; I have also worked with primary schools and I have been involved with numerous community projects.
Peter Guest
I am an archaeologist and numismatist with over 25 years’ experience as a teacher, researcher, excavator and curator. Recently retired as Reader in Roman Archaeology after 19 years at Cardiff University, I have also worked for The British Museum and the National Museum of Wales, and I am also a co-founder of Barbican Research Associates. My areas of expertise cover the Roman Empire, particularly Britannia and the northwestern provinces, the Roman army and frontiers, as well as Roman coinage and currency. I am an active field archaeologist and have directed excavations at Caerleon and Cirencester, and am currently involved in a multi-partner project at Water Newton. Although Roman coins are my main area of finds expertise – site-finds and hoards - I am interested in all types of archaeologically-recovered finds (bulk and ‘small’) and what these can tell us.
Nicky Rogers
After graduating with a combined Archaeology and History degree from Southampton University, I came to work as an artefact researcher at York Archaeological Trust in 1988, specializing in assessing, cataloguing, researching and publishing small finds of all materials found in excavations in the city; although my main areas of expertise cover the post Roman to late medieval periods, I have also worked on finds from Roman right through to the post medieval period. Since 2015, I have been self-employed, and have worked on a range of projects in both York, and elsewhere in England. I have been involved in training both archaeology students and interested members of the public in artefact study for 15 years, and I am currently an associate of the Department of Archaeology at York University, where I teach a module on artefacts from excavations to Masters students.
Specialist competence matrix
The specialist matrix is to assist applicants and the Validation committee to see where you demonstrate the grade applied for when working as a Finds specialist.
Forthcoming events
For information about upcoming events, please visit our event calendar.
Previous events
The Finds Group at 30: celebrating the past, reviewing the present, planning the future
The Finds Group celebrated its 30th Anniversary in 2019 and marked this by theming the AGM (25 September 2019 in Birmingham) around the past, present and future of archaeological finds work.
Interpreting Finds: Ecofacts and Artefacts
Event hosted by CIfA Finds Group and including the Finds Group AGM 26th September 2018
This one-day event presented recent and innovative approaches to the study of artefacts and ecofacts, highlighting their potential for contributing to an archaeological project. Exploring themes around multi-disciplinary approaches to interpreting artefact and ecofact assemblages and encouraging dialogue between different branches of the profession and considering ‘Finds’ in the broadest sense. Through the theme ‘Ecofacts to Artefacts’, exploring examples of environmental material that has been given meaning due to the use, modification or depositional context of the item – whether alongside more traditional artefacts or not!
The session also promoted the advocacy role of the Finds Group in promoting best practice across all finds specialisms and within the wider professional community. The event incorporated the Finds Group AGM and a presentation on Chartership.
ICON Archaeology Group Seminar - Archaeology on Display
The Archaeology Group AGM combined with a seminar discussing 'Archaeology on Display' and a visit to the 'Tunnel: The Archaeology of Crossrail' exhibition, which displays the range of archaeological objects unearthed by Crossrail, Europe's largest infrastructure project. *For more information on the event please click here
Three-year plan
2019 to 2022 Finds Group Three year plan (PDF)
AGM minutes
November 2021
November 2020
September 2019
Committee minutes
February 2022
October 2021
March 2021
February 2021
November 2020
May 2020
January 2020
October 2019
January 2019
