The Site Location and Its Primary Cultural and chronological components
The site is on 1.1 ha of reclaimed land south of the port of Liverpool Building at Mann’s Island, north of the canning Dock, east of the museum of Liverpool, and west of the former Mersey shoreline. Mann’s Island is part of the Maritime Mercantile City of Liverpool World Heritage Site, and was reclaimed from the river in the mid -eighteen century and has formed a plateau at 6m OD. According to archeological reports, most undeveloped areas consisted of buildings of various ages and functions. The facilities included Voss Garage, a steel-framed commercial structure, a dock transit shed older than others, and a tower of pumping and ventilation. Its geology provides alluvium intermixed with silts and sands (Quartermaine, J.2010).
Research goals
From the archeological report, the following goals were developed; the assessment of the goals was done following the guidance of English Heritage and was as follows;
- To examine how the environment and Humans of river Mersey foreshores develop over time. This was executed by examining the early environment of river Mercy, which included evidence for early vegetation changes and sea level. Also, examining the nature of the past exploitation of the river Mersey includes changes on land surfaces and shorelines.
- To determine how the site’s layout and character developed through the post-medieval period. This was achieved by characterizing the nature of the main phases of activity through stratigraphy and a detailed archeological formation of the site. Also, through determining the phasing of structures on the site to set its development in a historical context.
- To examine the evidence for the development of industry and trade in old Liverpool and its associate’s infrastructure. This was done and achieved by examining the contribution of the docks to the development of Liverpool’s industry, production, trade, and transport. Also, by exploring the evidence of the rise of consumerism from the site and finally through integrating evidence for the wider development of industrial and transport infrastructure in Liverpool with evidence provided from the excavation for goods, trade, and services.
- Further understanding of the social history of Post-medieval Liverpool was achieved through the use of archeological methods to study the ones not included in the documentary record.
- To analyze the evidence for the development in engineering and methodology in Liverpool’s docks. This was done by detailing the construction methods, including adaptations and rebuilding for all maritime features within the site, investigating the dock system and its development, and using data from Liverpool’s docks and those from global port cities.
Limitations Imposed on the excavation project.
Some of the limitations that were documented that were encountered during excavation included; poor site preservation
The site was poorly preserved, and it was only possible to fully understand the nature of the buildings listed in the directory by examining archeological tree remains.
Archeological Excavation and Documentation
The excavation used open-area excavation (Level One), which was intended to expose and record quayside features and structures. The excavation implemented mechanical excavation, which was used to define the extent of any surviving foundations, such as the floors’ delicate hand excavation carefully to suit various conditions. Cellars were not initially removed since they were necessary for determining their date and potential association with the dock. Once they were fully reviewed and recorded, they were removed using mechanical excavators under the supervision of the archeologists. Anything beneath the cellars and overburden was later investigated, sampled, and recorded according to the professional standard(Quartermaine, J.2010)
Level two involved a full fabric survey, where exposure of the wall docks used mechanical and delicate hand excavation. At this level, overlying overburden and backfill were removed mechanically. An experienced archeologist supervised the overall work. The manual excavation was used to remove deposits that were adjusted to the dock see to prevent accidental damage to them and to reveal the nuanced construction. Any associated tip deposits and fills were recorded, and any finds were discovered. This was particularly important as it enabled the collection of deposited assemblages at a defined date and also to determine the nature of the materials used to backfill and reclaim the docks (Raynor, C. and Johnson, N. 2012).
Post excavation analysis
The overall artefactual assemblage was substantial in size and varied in composition. The following are the items discovered in their analysis and primary conclusions.
1. Building materials
In all 140 fragments recovered, the assemblage is post-medieval to modern date, and the sample was analyzed from standing cellar walls and basement floors. The primary conclusion was that the excavation provided a small assemblage of samples from the structures to be used for quantitative analysis.
2. Clay Tobacco pipe
The materials were assessed using standard procedures. All fragments were individually examined and recorded. Most of the materials were fresh and unabraded, and most of the context produced large fragments, including little disturbance since deposition. In conclusion, the pipe fragments offered one of the most accurate and reliable artifacts for dating deposits in the early 19th century.
3. Pottery
From the archeological report, there 20 boxes were discovered, and the content in a total of 2800 shreds of pottery was examined. The majority of the shreds were from the 18th century and later. The excavation provides a small assemblage of samples from the structures and a small portion of the quantity of stratified debris. The use of quantitative analysis was not possible on these assemblages. According to reports, it was discovered that the assemblage may contribute to the dating of the buildings and analysis of their modification.
4. Metalwork
It involved a rapid visual scan of all metalwork assemblage was carried out and different metals were identified. A total of 359 objects were recovered and recorded, the majority being ferrous, followed by copper as the second largest group. The majority of the metalwork dates from the 18th century. These artifacts indicated the extent and nature of trade and industry.
5. Glass
The assessment of materials was based on the rapid visual inspection of all available fragments. Data were recorded in a standardized format, noting provenance, object type, material, period, and a brief written description. A total of 700 fragments were collected for recording. The assemblage will assist in refining dating, allowing, on occasion, a greater precision than that afforded by the pottery. Also, assemblage provides some potential for studying zones of activity on the site, which may be considered alongside evidence from other classes of finds, such as ceramics and metalwork. This would include both primary consumption and secondary disposal(Quartermaine, J.2010)
How successful was the project
The archeological excavation on Mann’s Island was a success as it involved a recovery of various finds, including clay pipe and pottery assemblages of certain nations and of international significance. Artifacts were recovered, which were recorded for further studies. Apart from this, a discovery was made on the reclamation of the Sea walls in the 1730s, the dock walls which were opened in 1740, warehousing across Nova Scotland Mann Island (Raynor, C. and Johnson, N. 2012).
From an examination of historical records and maps, it was evident that the excavation encountered the remains of sea walls, the Dry Dock, the passage between Canning Dock and George’s Dock to the north, Manchester Dock, the Mersey Railway Pumping and Ventilation Station, and buildings which occupied the area marked on maps as Nova Scotia.
Four research goals were outlined in the assessment report. Each of these, and their accompanying objectives, has been addressed in this analysis program. The first aim was directed at the changing environment of the Mersey to detect changes in vegetation and shoreline during land reclamation and dock development. Achievement of these goals depended on the availability of palaeoenvironmental samples of the requisite quality from appropriate locations. The stratigraphic analysis has shown that no deposits of the original pre-reclamation foreshore revealed by the excavation, which could sustain this type of investigation. However, some understanding of how the foreshore has changed has been established from the historical studies and from the archaeological examination of the reclaimed land, which have provided some insight into the modifications and use of the foreshore(Quartermaine, J.2010).
Provisions made for site protection
Care of the walls: considerable care was taken to preserve the dock walls in the course of mechanical excavation, and where the walls were to be re-visited and exposed to full depth during the later excavations, provisions were made for their conservation. This included covering the top and upper sides of the walls with a layer of black Vis queen and a layer of imported red sand, 0.3m thick.
For structures excavated from development formation level, and where walls survived below this level, additional mitigating excavation work was carried out to assess the full depth. This provided the opportunity to examine foundations and assess the prospects for survival beneath the deepest elements of the construction project. Also, the finds required marking before being formally accessioned (Raynor, C. and Johnson, N. 2012).
Some finds of pottery had developed blooms of mould. Thus, material needed further treatment in consultation with a ceramic’s conservator. In view of its fragile nature, the assemblage of tin-glazed earthenware’s and decorated tile were separated and rebagged for storage in appropriate conditions. Furthermore, metalwork required X-ray and cleaning to facilitate and confirm identification.
Further studies
In my view a further analysis should be done at the cite to determine and have a deep understanding of the cultural, economic and political demographic of the people who lived in Mann Island during the medieval period (Blakemore, 2021). Stratigraphy can be implemented to determine the relative age of each layer that will be excavated and also archeologists can use the law of superposition (Cindy, 2018) to analyze the political, cultural and economic demography of the region during the medieval period
Bibliography
Historical maps (no date) MS Digital Archives. Available at: https://da.mdah.ms.gov/series/maps (Accessed: December 4, 2022).
What do archaeologists do (no date) Society for American Archaeology. Available at: https://www.saa.org/about-archaeology/what-do-archaeologists-do (Accessed: December 4, 2022).
Blakemore, E. (2021) How archaeologists determine the date of ancient sites and artifacts, Culture. National Geographic. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/archaeologist-methods-date-sites-artifacts (Accessed: December 4, 2022).
Quartermaine, J. (2010) Mann Island, Liverpool- post-excavation assessment, Mann Island, Liverpool- Post-excavation Assessment – library. OA North. Available at: https://eprints.oxfordarchaeology.com/2321/ (Accessed: December 3, 2022).
Raynor, C. and Johnson, N. (2012) Mann Island, Liverpool- archaeological excavation report, Mann Island, Liverpool- Archaeological Excavation Report – library. OA North. Available at: https://eprints.oxfordarchaeology.com/2467/ (Accessed: December 3, 2022).
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