The Varley Archive, Eddisbury Hillfort

Previous attempts to trace the whereabouts of W.J. Varley’s archive from the 1936-38 excavations at Eddisbury have always failed. However, during background research for the recent excavations at Eddisbury, Merrick’s Hill – conducted across six weeks by the University of Liverpool Archaeology Field School, between 25th July-7th August 2010 and 24th July-19th August 2011 – field school co-director Richard Mason located and secured the Varley archive for Eddisbury. A project was promptly designed to document and re-assess the archive, jointly funded by the University of Liverpool and the Habitats and Hillforts project.

The primary aim of the project has been to produce a record (compliant with NMR and ADS standards) of the objects recovered from Eddisbury Hillfort by W.J. Varley between 1935-38, and temporary access to the assemblage has been negotiated to this end. The record is to be made available in the public domain as the current legal status of the finds assemblage is under private ownership and therefore public access is restricted. The secondary aim of the project is to re-assess the assemblage under specialist analysis; this process will involve re-dating artefacts and the application of scientific techniques, including conservation. This reassessment will further our understanding of the archaeology of the site, and is likely to impact on the potential for future re-interpretations.
 
The complete Varley archive represents a highly significant resource to the archaeological understanding of Eddisbury hillfort. The 1930s excavations by W.J. Varley remain the most extensive in the history of the hillfort’s investigations; the archive (along with Varley’s 1950 publication) is the only known resource relating to this series of excavations.