As commercial archaeologists, our focus is always about getting on to site and then off site as quickly as possible, working ever harder to deliver clients’ development programmes whilst meeting professional standards. But we also have a responsibility to make archaeology relevant to society and,...
How many roads must an archaeologist walk down before we can say that the archaeological potential of the site has been adequately characterised? And how many turbines does it take to ensure that the renewables target will be met by 2020? Whilst the answers to...
'Great projects, amazing locations and a great team of archaeologists are what make all the difference, and if the project can make a substantive contribution to our understanding of the past, then so much the better. Inchmarnock was one of those projects: an uninhabited island,...
Two of the most experienced archaeology and built-heritage practices in the UK, MOLA and Headland Archaeology, have combined their expertise to form MOLA Headland Infrastructure. The consortium has been formed specifically to bid for the delivery of archaeological and heritage services to large, world-class infrastructure...
Headland is currently working on three of the largest infrastructure projects in Europe and there are some unique opportunities for staff of all grades from excavators to senior managers (visit our careers page). The team is growing very rapidly and we haven’t seen this level of activity since...
Nowadays, large-scale archaeological projects for major infrastructure projects are relatively common – think of Thames Tideway Tunnel, and Crossrail, Hinkley Point and Anglesey, Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route and A14, not to mention HS2. However, back in 1998, infrastructure projects were as rare as hens’ teeth...
A major monograph has just been published by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. The Birth of Industrial Glasgow: the Archaeology of the M74 describes the findings of excavations along the route of the new road extension linking the M74 with the M8 which now cuts through...
The Newbridge chariot burial was always going to be a hard act to follow – but let’s talk forestry and upland survey because, in its own way, what we called the ‘forestry contract’ was to play a central role in the early success of the...
We can't quite believe it that it's been 20 years ago since the four original Headlanders, armed with the determination to ‘do archaeology’ differently, set up office in Edinburgh. Over the past 20 years the company has grown from being a ‘four-man-band’ to becoming one of the...
Picture the scene: a cold Winter’s day, a biting north-easterly wind with occasional snow flurries. It’s early afternoon on Thursday 25th January 2001. The team has been on site now for just over two weeks, monitoring topsoil stripping on behalf of Muir Construction for an...