David Morgan Rees was one of the leading pioneers to champion the remarkable industrial heritage and archaeology of Wales, injecting a drive for industrial history, preservation and interpretation into Welsh national institutions. Rees' advocacy led to the founding of the first society in south Wales dedicated to industrial archaeology, and he was instrumental in establishing the Welsh Industrial and Maritime Museum that opened in 1977 as the first museum dedicated to the broad interpretation of Welsh industrial heritage. His legacy shapes how the industrial past is respected and shared today. This paper, driven by archival and landscape evidence, explores those hidden pasts and futures of Rees and industrial archaeology found throughout the echoes of the former Welsh Industrial and Maritime Museum, its replacement in Swansea, the National Waterfront Museum, and various industrial sites and collections of Museum Wales. In doing so, the larger question of how biographical bureaucracies can linger on throughout sites as both tangible and intangible industrial heritage is addressed.
This paper demonstrates how industrial archaeology - combining field investigation with archival research - can yield new insights into early locomotive design, manufacture and use. It contrasts evidence derived from underwater sites, where wrecked machinery may survive in near 'as-built' condition, with that from museum artefacts, which embody complex histories of repair, modification and preservation. Case studies include failed and successful underwater investigations of shipwrecked locomotives, alongside detailed examinations of preserved engines in Britain and North America. These reveal previously unrecognised constructional features, material choices and evolutionary design changes, while also highlighting the interpretative challenges posed by later alterations and conservation practices. The paper emphasises the importance of understanding both an artefact's operational and preservation 'careers', and the value of interdisciplinary collaboration. It concludes that systematic archaeological approaches significantly enhance the historiography of early railway engineering and offer a robust framework for future research.
Railway architecture often embodies the innovation and globalisation processes characteristic of industrialisation. In China, many early examples of railway architecture demonstrate these processes, as seen in the stations of Imperial Railways of North China (IRNC, later known as Peking-Mukden Railway). Built between 1881 and 1912 combining Chinese, British and other countries' actants, this line brought to Beijing new building solutions, techniques and typologies. This article adopts an archaeological approach to analyse the physical and documentary evidence of 11 station sites. Using field recording and architectural analyses, it defines the original designs of these constructions and explains them within their cultural context. It is concluded that the railway architecture of IRNC in Beijing reflects the influence of the European engineers who came to China to work in the development of its early railway network, as well as the country's timid process of globalisation and modernisation at the end of the imperial era.
This article examines the Belemedik Middle Construction Site, established in 1905 along the Berlin-Baghdad Railway corridor as a temporary yet systematically organised railway construction settlement in mountainous southern T & uuml;rkiye. Interpreting the site as a dispersed socio-technical industrial heritage, the study draws on archival research, architectural survey and oral history to analyse its spatial organisation, hybrid construction techniques and topographic adaptations that illustrate pragmatic engineering responses to environmental and logistical constraints. Evaluated through industrial heritage value frameworks, the site's significance is shown to lie not only in individual buildings but in the legibility of construction processes embedded within the landscape. Comparative discussion situates Belemedik between planned company towns and field-adapted navvy camps. The article further addresses conservation challenges arising from fragmented governance and proposes a reversible, low-impact adaptive reuse model to sustain material authenticity and landscape integrity within this dispersed industrial settlement.
This article interprets the Belemedik-Hac & imath;k & imath;r & imath; section of the Baghdad Railway that crosses the Taurus Mountains in southern Turkey as a railway construction landscape. While previous scholarship has largely focused on individual engineering structures or the political economy of the railway, the construction corridor has rarely been analysed within the framework of industrial archaeology as an integrated industrial system. Drawing on archival sources, historical photographs and field investigation, the study reconstructs the spatial and organisational structure of the corridor, including tunnels, viaducts, service roads, temporary narrow-gauge systems and the German construction settlement at Belemedik. The analysis demonstrates that the mountainous section functioned as a coordinated production landscape linking engineering solutions, labour organisation and logistical infrastructure. By examining the material remains of railway construction at corridor scale, the article contributes to recent industrial archaeology approaches that interpret infrastructure projects as landscape-scale industrial systems. It concludes by proposing an Industrial Archaeology Route as a framework for the interpretation and conservation of this important railway construction landscape.
This article examines the development, technical implementation and socioeconomic impacts of the Antofagasta-Bolivia Railway (FCAB), inaugurated in 1889 as a pivotal transnational infrastructure linking northern Chile and south-western Bolivia. It analyses how the railway facilitated mineral extraction and export, stimulated urbanisation in centres such as Oruro, Uyuni, Ollag & uuml;e and Antofagasta, and reshaped migration, labour organisation and cross-border interactions. Framed as an industrial and logistical system, the FCAB is interpreted as both a material network and an evolving industrial landscape that integrated the region into global trade while reinforcing structures of economic dependency. The article argues that the railway exemplifies the dual role of infrastructure in South America as a driver of technological modernisation and a mechanism of extractive capitalism that intensified territorial asymmetries. It also examines political opposition in Bolivia, highlighting tensions between national sovereignty and foreign capital in the post-war context.
This paper sets out to discuss the origins of what is one of the most clearly identifiable types of building used by industry - the single-storey north-light shed with its characteristic saw-tooth silhouette. This building type is so readily identifiable that, together with the factory chimney, it is commonly used as a graphic symbol to represent industry. The evidence indicates that the concept was introduced simultaneously with the mass introduction of the cast-iron power loom in Britain during the 1820s. Since then this building type has become ubiquitous, spreading to all corners of the globe. However, in this paper there is an emphasis on latitudes to the north of what might be assumed to be the birthplace of this building type, the textile region(s) of northern England.
This article explores the reuse of industrial infrastructure by Scottish Showpeople, travelling fairground workers living predominantly in Glasgow. While their fairground labour has long been recognised, this project centres on their underexamined living spaces: yards, where they winter during the off-season. These self-built environments are rooted in cultural heritage and shaped by external pressures, forming a citywide architectural system of routes, sites and adaptive acts. Operating in deindustrialised areas of Glasgow, Showpeople's yards represent a social form of industrial archaeology - reworking remnants and vacant spaces to sustain livelihoods and resist displacement. By detailing these spatial practices, the article argues that Showpeople's resourceful tactics conserve the built fabric of Glasgow's industrial settings, offering valuable lessons for conservation and the lived politics of place.
Saltpetre, the key component in making gunpowder under the formula of 'one measure of saltpetre, two of sulphur, three of charcoal', was mainly produced in ancient times in karst caves across China. Numerous saltpetre cave sites from the Ming and Qing dynasties (14th-20th centuries) recorded recently in south-west China have made a significant contribution to the current framework of gunpowder history research, which has hitherto been limited largely to literature studies rather than examining physical evidence of ancient saltpetre production. Several of these cave sites were found to preserve rare remains of the various stages in the production process, ranging from the extraction of raw material to the final processing of saltpetre. The paper further examines the history and chronological phases of saltpetre-making in caves, provides insights into the industry's historical background, characteristics and development, whilst also throwing new light on a wider understanding of the origins, development and spread of gunpowder technology.
The Pianaccioli kiln in Ponte Buriano, Arezzo, is a key case in industrial archaeology, showcasing Tuscany's 19th- and 20th-century ceramic and lime production. Founded in 1840 by Dionisio Pianaccioli, it utilised local clay and limestone to produce bricks and quicklime, essential for regional construction. Operated by four generations, it remained active until demolition in 1970. The kiln employed a discontinuous wood-fired furnace, illustrating traditional calcination techniques. It also integrated seasonal farm labourers, reflecting the interplay between rural life and industry. The kiln's legacy continues to inform interdisciplinary research, emphasising the need for heritage preservation through archival study, topographical surveys and comparative analyses of historical manufacturing systems.
Manchester is known worldwide for its textile industry of the 18th-20th centuries, which earned it the title 'Cottonopolis'. While much attention has been devoted to the textile mills and their productive processes, comparatively little work has explored the origins of the seas of textile machinery whose noise rang out across the city. How and where was this machinery cast ahead of later assembly and installation? In 2023, Salford Archaeology investigated the above- and below-ground remains of the Joseph Stubbs Ltd Openshaw Works at 67-69 Louisa Street, which specialised in the casting of machinery for all stages of the cotton, wool, linen, jute and hemp production processes. This article leverages the results of these investigations and provides important insights into the casting of textile machinery, and the working operations at medium-sized iron foundries in Manchester at the turn of the 20th century.
The Liulihe Cement Plant in Beijing was established in 1939, originating from a small workshop founded by the Japanese as part of the North China Cement Co. Ltd. The plant was expanded after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 and emerged a leader in cement production, successfully adopting the semi-dry process technology utilising Lepol kilns. This paper examines the two Lepol kiln production lines that survive at the plant. It identifies their chronology, discusses their technological status and delves into the significance of semi-dry technology in the context of China's cement industry. The paper also highlights the plant's significant role in the swift progress of the country's cement industry, an evolution that illustrates the characteristics of large state-owned enterprises during the period of China's planned economy, as well as the effects of market-oriented reforms implemented since the late 1970s and subsequent advancements in new technologies.
Industrial archaeology and industrial heritage have long been regarded as two sides of the same coin. Both have shared origins and aim to explore, interpret and preserve the remains of the industrial past. Yet, despite their continued growth in separate directions, industrial archaeology and heritage are continually conflated, with little work having been done to interrogate their differences. This article aims to identify and disentangle the relationships between industrial archaeology and heritage. After discussing the prevailing methods and paradigms of industrial archaeology, the author identifies two distinct approaches to industrial heritage research and practice, 'classical' and 'critical' industrial heritage. These three approaches to working with and studying the industrial past are then placed into direct discussion, where the case is made that future researchers and practitioners should become more sensitive to the differences between industrial archaeology and industrial heritage.
Mining metallic resources has been important to technological advancement since prehistoric times and has contributed to the progress of civilisation. Mining heritage includes sites and structures related to mining that reveal historical and cultural insights. The remains of structures in the mercury mining district on the Karaburun peninsula of Izmir in T & uuml;rkiye, which includes the Kalecik, Karareis and Dikencik mines, is one such site. Despite its abandonment and subsequent damage, research has highlighted the importance of the district during the late Ottoman empire and the early years of the Republic as a source of cinnabar, the most common source ore for refining elementary mercury. Comparable mines elsewhere have been transformed into heritage sites and tourist attractions, such as at Monte Amiata in Italy and Idrija in Slovenia. In view of the potential, this study aimed to establish the historical and industrial significance of the Karaburun mercury mining district through detailed research and site survey to form a robust base for a holistic conservation approach.
The railway heritage and archaeology of the S & eacute;tif region in Algeria is a significant but underexplored component of the country's industrial history. In contrast to many developed countries, where systematic inventories and successful preservation efforts are in place, Algeria lacks a coordinated approach to safeguarding its valuable historic railway legacy. This study focuses on identifying and documenting three key elements of a railway in the S & eacute;tif region: the network, stations and engineering structures. Analysis of representative models of these elements highlights their architectural functionality, historical significance and socio-economic impact. By examining the morphological and technical characteristics of these components, the study uncovers their role in shaping urban and regional development. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the region's industrial heritage and its impact, enriching the historical narrative of Algeria's railway infrastructure and providing a foundation for raising awareness of this important legacy among public authorities.
London Film Productions' Denham Studios were the largest and most advanced in Britain when they opened in 1936. Despite producing some of the best-known British-made films of the next 15 years, the studios were hampered by an inefficient layout and closed in 1951. But this was not the end of their story. This article shows what happened to the studios when they ceased to function as a site of film production, as they were emptied, put to new uses, disassembled and eventually memorialised. Faced with a complex legacy, new commercial and residential developments could choose to either commemorate the site's film industrial heritage or try to erase it. Films may no longer be made at Denham, but remnants of, and ideas about, the studios are still at work in the site's built, natural and imaginative environments.
