Still In Transit: The Van Recycled

Transit J641 VUJ at Sims Metal, July '06

If you have seen Greg Bailey's short film, In Transit, then you know that once we were done excavating 'our' Ford Transit Van we had it crushed.

The decision to have what was left of the van recycled was both pragmatic and symbolic: pragmatic because it rid us of the shell of the Transit, and symbolic because in being recycled, the Transit would 'live on' by being turned into other artefacts of modern material culture.

Last week I visited Sims Metal in Avonmouth. Sims is the recycling facility where our Transit was smashed, shredded, sorted, and finally loaded on a ship. Though some of us hoped that the metal from the Transit would be turned into another Transit, research has shown that this did not turn out to be the case.

loading the shredder

shredded ferrous bits on conveyor belt

pile of shredded ferrous bits

loading the ship

Sims Metal's records show that the ferrous content from the van was shipped to Turkey where it was purchased by a factory that makes 'Rebar', the reinforcing metal bars used in concrete constructions.

Rebar

The aluminum from the van could not be traced. However according to Sims the metal is commonly shipped to India, Indonesia, China and Italy. All of the other metals (brass, bronze, lead, etc.) mixed together were shipped to China to be hand sorted. The lighter materials from the van (foam, plastic, fabric, etc.) were dumped in one of the local landfills.

A big thank you to James Norman, Derek Campbell, and Stuart Wilcox of Sims Metal.

Adrian ~

Reflexive Representations: The Van

Reflexive Representations [7]: Ford Transit Van J641 VUJ
by Andrew Cochrane and Ian Russell

Andrew Cochrane and Ian Russell have used The Van as the basis for their most recent archaeology photomosaic. Read more about their work and this piece on the Reflexive Representations Blog.

Their work was recently published in Cambridge Archaeological Journal [Vol 17(1): 3-19]. Available here by subscription (most university based computers).

Adrian ~

Ceramics in The Van

Nigel Jeffries

Collaboration on finds analysis continues. Nigel Jeffries of the Museum of London volunteered to look at the various ceramic bits that came out of the van excavation, so I visited him in London last week.

Nigel’s expertise was invaluable in identifying these ceramic bits–mostly fragments so small that they would likely go unrecorded on many archaeological projects. Indeed, this is perhaps a clue to why these artefacts were deposited in the Van in the first place.

However, for the same reason that they were likely lost in the van, identifying the bits is a difficult proposition. Their fragmentary nature and small size means that these artefacts are highly ambiguous: both difficult to identify and difficult to date. Certain artefacts were unidentifiable.

Nevertheless Nigel applied his skills to the artefacts and did come up with some interesting results! His analysis revealed that the van contained ceramics from the Roman period, early to late Middle Ages, the Victorian era, and into the twentieth century.

Nigel's work has shown that, at approximately 1800 years old, this Roman ceramic fragment (below) is likely the oldest cultural material found in the van.

Artefact # 1024-95: Fragment of Samian ware, bowl form, circa 120-250AD

Artefact # 1024-68: Fragment of Early Medieval unglazed ceramic, hand made, with inclusions characteristic of the West Midlands, circa 1050-1250AD

Artefact # 1024-44: Fragment of Midlands yellow glazed ware, dish or bowl form, circa 1500-1700AD

Artefact # 1024-39: Fragment of daub, Roman to Medieval.

Artefact # 1024-10: Fragment of English Blue transfer printed whiteware, plate form, circa 1810-1840

In Transit Film Screening @ UCL

Thank you to everyone who came out to the film screening at the Institute of Archaeology at UCL - and thanks especially to the organizers. After the film we had an interesting question and answer period, as well as a well supplied wine reception. Discussion continued until way past our bedtimes. So again, thanks to all!

Adrian ~

20 March 'The Van: In Transit' Screening @ UCL

For anyone who hasn't yet seen Greg Bailey's film The Van: In Transit there is a screening of the film (+ discussion with Greg and wine reception) coming up on 20 March in London. Details:

Tuesday 20 March, 6PM
G6 Lecture Theatre, UCL Institute of Archaeology, London
Contact: Hilary Orange h.orange@ucl.ac.uk

Greg, myself, and others from The Van Project will be attending!

Adrian ~

More On Collaboration and Finds Analysis...

Bill and Bob from the Department of Electrical and Electronic

Engineering workshop using specialist trade catalogs to identify artefacts

The assemblage under scrutiny is too diverse for any one researcher to analyze singlehandly. Though some artefacts are easily identifiable everyday objects, as we have seen from previous posts, many others are exceptional, or specific to certain trades. Thus, expert advice from a range of specialists has emerged as a powerful tool for this project.

As discussed below, knowledge of the electrical bits was vastly added to by affable volunteers from the University of Bristol's Department of Electrical and Electronic engineering. Now, other collaborators have also taken on tasks for the project:

A manager at the Southampton Ford assembly plant (where our van was built) is looking into using the van's unique Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to see what he can find out about its assembly and the provenance of its constituent components.

Also, a manager at Sims Metal (where the van was ultimately destroyed, as seen in Greg Bailey's In Transit) is looking into where the metals and other primary materials went after being shredded. Preliminary results show that the ferrous metals went to a Turkish rebar manufacturer, while the nonferrous metals went to China where they were hand sorted.

And finally, Nigel Jeffries, ceramics expert at the Museum of London has volunteered to have a look at the 'misplaced' ceramics for us. So I'll report back on that in the near future.

So, what's next?

Well, since you asked, I am looking for some help on a couple items: the English pipe stem fragment, and the 1893 threepenny coin. If you are a pipe expert or numismatist and want to make it into the acknowledgments section of my dissertation, get in touch with me!

I'll finish up by posting a couple more image of unknown artefacts:

The first is a fragment of white plastic, likely associated with construction and buildings trades. My guesses so far are that it is a) a bit off the the tip of a tube of sealing caulk, or b) the tip of some type of concrete or plaster anchor. If you know better let me know.


The second is a fragment of paper with a line of holes characteristic of a dot matrix printer. This seems to either be from a purchase receipt, or a pay cheque. Anybody at Ironbridge recognize it as being from a pay cheque?


Cheers for now,

ADRIAN ~

Electrical Bits

Finds Photography in Progress

The van was first used by the Ironbridge archaeology unit, and later by Ironbridge works and maintenance teams. Certain recovered artefacts can be reasonably associated with the work of archaeologists: a high quality Staedtler HB pencil, a piece of white chalk, a scalpel blade. However, the vast majority of small finds are clearly associated with maintenance and construction work: screws, nuts, bolts, nails, and various electrical bits.

In fact, after wood and metal working items, artefacts associated with the work of electricians are the most common finds - about 70 items. Partly as a pragmatic way to identify some of these items, and partly as an experiment in collaborative archaeology, I sought help at the University of Bristol Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. An administrator put me in touch with the department's workshop, where two affable electronics technicians spent their coffee break looking over my bits. The visit was worthwhile as these two specialists identified (or confirmed my own interpretations on) nearly all of the artefacts.

A few of the electrical artefacts:

1001-55: fluorescent bulb starter (fragment)

1024-3: insulation from heavy duty 'armour' electrical cable [not a shotgun shell!]

1001-60: a red Light Emitting Diode (LED) in working condition

1024-76: telephone wire nail cable clip

various household fuses

Identifying Everyday Objects from Discarded Fragments...

The 'bagging and tagging' of the small finds - and attempts at identification - continues. I've come across numerous bits, a few bobs, a couple doohickeys, and even a whatchamacallit. Indeed, identifying fragments of contemporary material culture proves to be a challenging task.

This week I've got a few unidentified items that I need some help with. Don't be shy - if you have an idea, please share it. Anybody can help with this - certainly not just archaeologists. (Also - maintenance people and others at Ironbridge - I'm looking at you!)

Respond with the comments link below and remember to cite the item number.

The first item below has been identified - and full credit for that goes to my classmate Brent "Eagle Eyes" Fortenberry. He instantly saw that item 1001-76 was the a small bit off of the tip of the clip portion of a BIC mechanical pencil!

1001-76

web search

I need help with the following five items - click on any image to enlarge it:

1001-12: a tiny piece of cardboard, about the length, width, and thickness of a paper match (the top is glossy and the bottom is plain cardboard)

Item 1001-36: metal fastener

Item 1001-46: a bit off of a food wrapper

Item 1024-28: a few bits of green glass, likely 20th century

Item 1059-14: metal fastener, possibly automotive

Cheers! Adrian ~

British Archaeology Article Available Online

For those of you who missed the January-February issue of British Archaeology at the newsstands, the Transit Van piece and the rest of the issue is now available free online.

Adrian ~

Finds Analysis Started

The first steps of the finds processing is now underway at the University of Bristol archaeology lab. I put in a couple days worth of washing and bagging artefacts, and I now have a 'general feel' for the 'stuff' I am to deal with.

It seems that there are two major categories of artefacts to this assemblage: the components that made up the Transit Van itself (automotive parts), and the 'small finds' that made up the surface scatter on (and under and around) the floor of the van.

The components of the van are being washed (many of them greasy!) and bagged, watching closely for any unique product codes, time and date stamps, or inspection stickers. We hope that unique product codes might tell us where parts were made, and the inspection stickers (at least one has an inspector's unique number) might even tell us the name of someone who helped build our van. To these ends we are working our connections at the Transit Van Club, as well as the Southampton Ford assembly plant.

The small finds were collected in six separate contexts, three in the front cab and three in the back of the van, and thus at the time of excavation every artefact from the surface collection had one of six context numbers. To be able to better query them I am individually bagging, and assigning a unique context number, to each of the small finds. The assemblage originally comprised 118 unique contexts, and after separating out the small finds, it will comprise 476 unique contexts (358 small finds to be separated).

The collection of small finds is a truly fascinating assemblage... there are already too many ways the research could be taken! As has been mentioned elsewhere, not only is there much 'regular' material culture of the 1990's and 2000's, but also there is what we are calling 'the misplaced artefacts': finds from other archaeological sites - presumably Ironbridge Archaeology excavations - that were deposited in the van (an 1893 threepence coin, blue transfer print ceramic, and a pipe stem fragment, to name a few). I'll be sure to post something on them in the near future and we can discuss how and why they ended up in the van.

For now though, I need your help on something a little more recent. Many of you daily deal with identifying artefacts that are hundreds and thousands of years old. Here though, I ask that you apply some of the same skills to the 'material culture of the recent' (or perhaps even the 'material culture of the contemporary'). Just how much can we find out about the recent lived past from the material culture lost or abandoned under the seats of a van?

As mentioned above I've got 358 small finds - for now though I will post about four artefacts. The first two artefacts have been positively identified (or so I think at least...), and the second two have not.

I honestly need your help on these last two, so please respond below if you know anything about them. Refer to the context number in your post, and click on any image to enlarge it.

The first artefact (context 1024-52) has been identified as a single piece of 'champagne glass confetti, gold'. It is sold on the web by many different companies so I am unsure of a manufacturer so far.

Artefact 1024-52:



from web search:


The second artefact (context 1024-58) has been identified as a label from a bottle of novelty soap for blowing bubbles: "Clear/Gold Confetti Bubbles" product W53894 sold by the online shop confetti.co.uk. £ 9.99 for 24 bottles.

Artefact 1024-58:



from web search:


Next we have the two artefacts for you all to help me with! Sticking with the 'party' theme, first we've got a fragment of a candy/bonbon wrapper, with a distinctive red and green polka dot design (Christmas related perhaps?). I'm hoping this is a well known brand of English candy that Ive never heard of!

Artefact 1024-66:


And second, what looks to be a price tag from the Ironbridge Gorge museum giftshop... can anybody (an Ironbidge employee hint hint) make out the price... and what item in the shop has (or had) that price? Do you still use this type of price sticker?

Artefact 1024-67:


So if you can help please post back!

Adrian ~