Council for British Archaeology

Dr Mike Heyworth, director of the CBA, has recently addressed the question of the formation of a regional group of the CBA for London. The trustees of the Council for British Archaeology have agreed to this in principle. At present CBA SE looks after London south of the River Thames and CBA Mid Anglia the remaining part, to the north of the River Thames. The Standing Conference on London Archaeology (SCOLA) has existed for the past fifteen years and has focussed its attention on matters pertaining to the Greater London Region with some success, although it is now felt that a larger organisation would have more clout with governmental departments etc. If a CBA London region proves successful, SCOLA will be disbanded so that it does not add to the number of bodies operating in archaeology in London. There are natural concerns about the implications and CBA wishes to assure all that the new group will work particularly hard to enhance the work of existing bodies to avoid duplication of resources etc. CBA also proposes that the existing county societies will each be able to propose an individual to serve on the CBA London trustee board.

Initially it is proposed that the CBA London group will focus on three key areas:

• raising the profile of archaeology in London
• enhancing access to information about archaeology in London
• diversifying participation in archaeology in London

There will be plenty of opportunities for those interested in promoting archaeology in London to take part in the establishment and running of the new Group. Of course, there are still (m)any issues to be discussed and resolved with CBA SE, CBA Mid Anglia and SCOLA but it is hoped that a steering committee will be set up in the near future.

If you have any questions or comments please get in touch with me.

Sheila Bloomfield