GeoArch has been the trading name of Tim Young since 1999, although the report series started in 1997, when he was still in the Cardiff University School of Earth Sciences. GeoArch activities grew steady through the early years, including the start of work on Irish as well as UK projects in 2003, and GeoArch moved into its current Caerphilly premises in 2009. GeoArch is now the largest supplier of specialist archaeometallurgical services and analyses in the UK and Ireland. From the start, GeoArch specialised in the application of a wide range of geological approaches to archaeological problems, and although archaeometallurgy (principally analysis of residues, but also the metals themselves) is the dominant aspect of the business, geophysical and topographic surveying services are also offered, along with the investigation of industrial ironwork assemblages and some conventional archaeological investigations.
Archaeometallurgical services include:
- Excavation and excavation advice for metallurgical sites and features
- Advice on archaeometallurgical sampling
- Assessment of archaeometallurgical residue assemblages
- Analysis of archaeometallurgical materials through optical and electron microscopy with microanalysis, bulk chemical analysis by WD-XRF (majors) and ICP-MS (traces), spot chemical analysis by handheld XRF and mineralogy by XRD
In addition to commercial post-ex services, GeoArch also undertakes practical metallurgical activities as both experiment and demonstration.
Contact:
Phone: +44 (0)29 20881431
Post:
GeoArch,
Unit 6, Block C,
Western Industrial Estate,
Caerphilly,
CF83 1BQ,
United Kingdom.