Cambridge has been a key location throughout the ages. An important trading route during the Roman and Viking periods, the city then became an educational centre, with the first colleges established as early as 1284. It therefore comes as no surprise that ancient artefacts are regularly unearthed on building sites across the region. While some of these finds are crucial to shaping our knowledge of the past, what does it mean for future development?

Quite often, particularly in the city centre, projects are marred by issues and delays, not by the living but the very long dead. Unearthed artefacts have to be identified by county archaeologists who are instrumental in deciding what happens next. While for them discovering a Roman fire pit means Christmas has come early, for a project manager it could spell trouble when delivering a development.

A ‘known unknown’ is a familiar problem for project managers, ranging from archaeological marvels to Great Crested newts. So how do you mitigate this kind of risk? Although navigating these potential pitfalls remains a dark art, wherever possible it's crucial to try to influence an expedient outcome for the client, whose interest in Roman history is often secondary to the success of their development.

To do this successfully, the problem needs to be understood and managed ahead of time. That means accounting for potential risk and factoring it in to development programmes and cost allowances. This may sound simple enough, but you should never underestimate the time that it could take to complete an archaeology assessment on site and what they might find.

Excavating a site with a county archaeologist is no small task: the work is often carried out by hand and can cover extensive areas and take over a month to complete. It is only once archaeologists are content with the findings that the land can be reinstated in order to allow development to proceed. This is why being smart in your procurement is also key. Splitting out the archaeology works from the main building contract enables you to minimise costs and have better control over time frames and also gives the client positive, rather than reactive, decisions to make.

Consequently, the hallmark of a good project manager is not only managing client risk, but also knowing how best to manage risk throughout the development process. It is also important to understand the drivers and time commitments of county archaeologists. Remaining in their good books is essential if you’re looking to keep your project on top of the pile, especially in a historical city such as Cambridge.

Further information

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