28 Cross Tay Link Road – community benefits and social value from archaeological work Warren Bailie MCIfA, GUARD Archaeology Ltd, and David Strachan MCIfA, Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust The Cross Tay Link Road project is the largest infrastructure project ever delivered by Perth and Kinross Council. It delivers improvements to local road infrastructure, which facilitates sustainable development, improves air quality and reduces journey times and congestion within the Perth area in Scotland. During these works, Broxy Kennels fort and souterrain was excavated by GUARD Archaeology; the excavation was one of the largest of an Iron Age fort in Scotland in a generation. A previous geophysical survey and evaluation had already identified parts of this cropmark site and a metal detecting survey preceded the excavation, revealing a range of medieval artefacts within the topsoil. The topsoil was then stripped, uncovering four large ditches encircling the summit, and a stone-lined souterrain cut into one of the fort’s ditches. For more detail, there is a video summarising the excavation on GUARD Archaeology’s YouTube Channel https://bit.ly/3K6TKmu The client, Perth & Kinross Council, ensured there was a requirement within this contract to prioritise and maximise social value and community benefits, leaving a project legacy in the local community. One of the deliverables on the contract was an outreach strategy, in accordance with the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. This Act calls for all public sector commissioning to factor in economic, social and environmental wellbeing in connection with public services contracts. It was therefore imperative that the value of all aspects of the project, including archaeology, were carried out with the highest level of professionalism while maximising social value to the local and wider community. GUARD Archaeology Ltd is a CIfA Registered Organisation (CIfA RO). The project was managed by a MCIfA accredited GUARD archaeologist and all site works were led by ACIfA accredited GUARD archaeologists. The excavation team comprised other staff Members of the public on an Open Day, adjacent to the souterrain (All photos: GUARD Archaeology)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzI0Mzk=