The Red Tail site (FbNp-10) is a multicomponent habitation site located 2.5 km north of Saskatoon within the boundaries of Wanuskewin Heritage Park. The site was initially tested in the early 1980s and then excavated during the summers of 1988 and 1989 by University of Saskatchewan archaeology field school students, paid crews and many volunteers. Evidence from the site indicates that it was inhabited numerous times, beginning around 4,300 years before present with a McKean occupation, which also included the only Mckean house pit feature found on the Canadian Plains. Other associations with archaeological cultures include Sandy Creek, Besant and Avonlea, revealing that the most recent identifiable occupation to have occurred was between 1,300 – 1,000 years before present. The Sandy Creek component is only the second to be recovered from a site within Wanuskewin Heritage Park. As the longest running archaeological project in Canada, the sites that have been excavated at Wanuskewin have involved a number of volunteers and the success of such a cultural facility would not be possible without the interest of members of the public. The dissemination of information about archaeology to the public has a colourful past in Saskatchewan that began in 1935 with the formation of the Saskatoon Archaeological Society; a group of avocationals who were interested in learning and sharing information about this province’s rich cultural history. Since then, the Saskatchewan Archaeological Society and its associated chapters were formed and awareness for the importance of preserving the past has been communicated through many avenues, including programs that invite members of the public to participate in archaeological opportunities within the province. An examination of these avenues of information sharing demonstrates how important public interest and support is to archaeology and heritage works in Saskatchewan.

Heritage iron objects are ubiquitous in the archaeological assemblage, frequently covered in thick, chloride-containing corrosion layers. Accurate monitoring of their corrosion rates is crucial for continued preventative conservation. Measurement of storage environment corrosivity is commonplace for a variety of metals, but use un-corroded metal as a proxy. Corrosion rates measured will be different with respect to chloride infused and corroded artefacts and data recovered difficult to reconcile with actual artefact degradation. Electrical resistance corrosion monitors have been applied to create proxy corrosion rates for various metals in industry, academia and heritage contexts. Pre-corrosion of such has previously been shown to be effective in providing altered corrosion rates in atmospheric environments. This research sets out to develop and refine the manufacture of such probes, to create sensors which will corrode similarly to chloride infested heritage iron and can be used in heritage environments to inform conservation strategy. Photochemical milling was used to create ERCM. Salt loading on the surface was achieved through a piezoelectric inkjet printer, shown to be adept at printing a variety of salt concentrations (down to 4μg/cm) and patterns, with consistency, regularity and reliability. The results of the methodology show the potential of the technique for future salt loading and corrosion testing applications. Corrosion products were grown on the treated ERCM by controlled atmospheric corrosion, shown to create a constant corrosion layer, no significant localised corrosion and good reproducibility. The products formed were shown to be compositionally similar to those found on archaeological iron. The sensors have been tested in both stable and dynamic relative humidity environments, within a test chamber and in ersatz heritage type, desiccated boxes. The corrosion rates and reactions were compared to those of heritage iron. Pre-corroded ERCM are shown to give similar corrosion rates to heritage iron; though direct calibration was not possible, further research is likely to remedy this. The final outcomes of the project are discussed with respect to the closeness of fit between proxy and archaeological iron corrosion rate data, benefits and shortcomings of the system and how the corrosion data affects current conservation understanding. It is concluded that the technique can detect corrosion rates down to storage relative humidity levels, provides more accurate representation of corrosion rate for chloride infested iron objects than bare metal ERCM, can be calibrated to suite specific objects and could represent excellent cost-effectiveness for environmental monitoring in heritage institutions.

This work primarily examines the management of wet-preserved archaeological sites in England, through an exploration of value and analysis of current management approaches. The aim is to explore whether the current policy frameworks, in particular the role of preservation in situ, can provide a sustainable future for wet-preserved archaeological sites. This work further seeks to conceptualise the modelling of sustainability, preservation and management decision making in wetland archaeological sites. Looking at the last 40 year of wetland research through the work of the large-scale wetland survey projects, this work initially considers the current understanding of wet archaeological sites in England. It also examines aspects of heritage management through the legislative and policy frameworks and their legacy. This work considers the implications that legislative and policy positions have for the management of wetland archaeological sites and examines the theoretical concepts that underpin them. This includes exploring reflective management, the development of research frameworks, and scoring mechanisms for the designation of sites. It also looks at broader constructs of value through the concepts of cultural and economic values. Three existing archaeological sites, a ringwork at Borough Fen near Peterborough, a marsh fort at Sutton Common near Doncaster and a triple post-alignment near Beccles, will be presented as case studies. These sites serve as examples of how the management of sites has been approached. The results of the case study analysis are used to develop a series of conceptual models looking firstly at sustainability and preservation in situ, and, secondly at preservation, value and decision making. The study concludes that the presumption in favour of preservation in situ can be challenging for wet preserved archaeological sites. Deterioration of the preservation environment can in some cases produce a similar decline in significance. Preservation in situ may therefore not be the most appropriate option for archaeological sites in wetlands.

A pesquisa apresentada versa sobre três temáticas inter-relacionadas - fronteira, estâncias e museus - na região da Fronteira Oeste do Rio Grande do Sul, através da pesquisa arqueológica realizada na Estância Velha do Jarau (Quaraí/RS) e das visitas às instituições museológicas dos municípios que formam a Campanha Gaúcha. Relacionou-se a formação histórica da Fronteira Oeste, marcada pelo estabelecimento de estâncias, com o perfil histórico-cultural da região atualmente, buscando identificar mudanças e permanências que se processaram nesse espaço e servem como indicadores de memória e identidade. Foram analisadas as louças da Estância Velha do Jarau demonstrando como este espaço é múltiplo e representativo do ambiente doméstico de uma estância de criação de gado do século XIX, muitas vezes rememorada somente por seus elementos político-econômicos, bélicos e produtivos, não relacionando este espaço à uma unidade doméstica e familiar. A partir desses dois primeiros eixos (fronteira e estância) diagnosticou-se de que forma a memória estancieira está presente nos museus da região e como estes podem contribuir para valorização e ampliação do patrimônio e da identidade local/regional. Ao final foram propostas estratégias para musealização do acervo arqueológico da Estância Velha do Jarau, partindo de premissas básicas da ação museológica que se norteiam pelo preservacionismo e educação. / The research herein presented deals with three interrelated themes - frontier, cattle farms and museums - in the western frontier region of Rio Grande do Sul, through archaeological research conducted at Estancia Velha Jarau (Quaraí/RS) and visits to the museums of the cities that make up the Campanha Gaúcha (Gaucho Plains). It relates to the historical formation of the western frontier, marked by the establishment of farms with a historical and cultural profile of the region today, in order to identify changes and continuities which occurred in this space and are used as indicators of memory and identity. Chinaware from the Estância Velha do Jarau was analyzed, demonstrating how this space is multiple and represents the household environment of a cattle farm in the nineteenth century, often recognized only for its political and economic elements, and war production, and not connecting this space to a household and family context. From these first two axes (frontier and cattle farm) an examination was made of the way in which memory of the cattle farm is present in the museums of the region and how they can contribute to the recovery and expansion of heritage and identity at the local/regional level. Finally, strategies have been proposed for the museum housing of the archaeological collection from Estância Velha do Jarau, starting from the basic premises of museology that are centered around preservation and education.

A pesquisa apresentada versa sobre três temáticas inter-relacionadas - fronteira, estâncias e museus - na região da Fronteira Oeste do Rio Grande do Sul, através da pesquisa arqueológica realizada na Estância Velha do Jarau (Quaraí/RS) e das visitas às instituições museológicas dos municípios que formam a Campanha Gaúcha. Relacionou-se a formação histórica da Fronteira Oeste, marcada pelo estabelecimento de estâncias, com o perfil histórico-cultural da região atualmente, buscando identificar mudanças e permanências que se processaram nesse espaço e servem como indicadores de memória e identidade. Foram analisadas as louças da Estância Velha do Jarau demonstrando como este espaço é múltiplo e representativo do ambiente doméstico de uma estância de criação de gado do século XIX, muitas vezes rememorada somente por seus elementos político-econômicos, bélicos e produtivos, não relacionando este espaço à uma unidade doméstica e familiar. A partir desses dois primeiros eixos (fronteira e estância) diagnosticou-se de que forma a memória estancieira está presente nos museus da região e como estes podem contribuir para valorização e ampliação do patrimônio e da identidade local/regional. Ao final foram propostas estratégias para musealização do acervo arqueológico da Estância Velha do Jarau, partindo de premissas básicas da ação museológica que se norteiam pelo preservacionismo e educação. / The research herein presented deals with three interrelated themes - frontier, cattle farms and museums - in the western frontier region of Rio Grande do Sul, through archaeological research conducted at Estancia Velha Jarau (Quaraí/RS) and visits to the museums of the cities that make up the Campanha Gaúcha (Gaucho Plains). It relates to the historical formation of the western frontier, marked by the establishment of farms with a historical and cultural profile of the region today, in order to identify changes and continuities which occurred in this space and are used as indicators of memory and identity. Chinaware from the Estância Velha do Jarau was analyzed, demonstrating how this space is multiple and represents the household environment of a cattle farm in the nineteenth century, often recognized only for its political and economic elements, and war production, and not connecting this space to a household and family context. From these first two axes (frontier and cattle farm) an examination was made of the way in which memory of the cattle farm is present in the museums of the region and how they can contribute to the recovery and expansion of heritage and identity at the local/regional level. Finally, strategies have been proposed for the museum housing of the archaeological collection from Estância Velha do Jarau, starting from the basic premises of museology that are centered around preservation and education.

Yes / While death is universal, reactions to death and ways of dealing with the dead body are hugely diverse, and archaeological research reveals numerous ways of dealing with the dead through time and across the world. In this paper, findings are presented which not only demonstrate the power of archaeology to promote and aid discussion around this difficult and challenging topic, but also how our approach resulted in personal growth and professional development impacts for participants. In this interdisciplinary pilot study, archaeological case studies were used in 31 structured workshops with 187 participants from health and social care backgrounds in the UK, to explore their reactions to a diverse range of materials which documented wide and varied approaches to death and the dead. Our study supports the hypothesis that the past is a powerful instigator of conversation around challenging aspects of death, and after death care and practices: 93% of participants agreed with this. That exposure to archaeological case studies and artefacts stimulates multifaceted discourse, some of it difficult, is a theme that also emerges in our data from pre, post and follow-up questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews. The material prompted participants to reflect on their biases, expectations and norms around both treatment of the dead, and of bereavement, impacting on their values, attitudes and beliefs. Moreover, 87% of participants believed the workshop would have a personal effect through thinking differently about death and bereavement, and 57% thought it would impact on how they approached death and bereavement in their professional practice. This has huge implications today, where talk of death remains troublesome, and for some, has a near-taboo status – ‘taboo’ being a theme evident in some participants’ own words. The findings have an important role to play in facilitating and normalising discussions around dying and bereavement and in equipping professionals in their work with people with advanced illness. / AHRC / Research Development Fund Publication Prize Award winner, Dec 2020.