I couldn’t help myself when I wrote the title as I always think of CSI in terms of the T.V. show. So do the people who founded and run CSI, Sittingbourne — except their CSI means “Conservation Science Investigation.” It’s a fascinating approach to doing archeology and conservation in the public eye and with the public’s help.

Sittingbourne is in the county of Kent in England. In 2008 archeologists from the Canterbury Archaeological Trust made a startling find: a large 6th-7th century gravesite containing 229  Anglo-Saxon graves, popularly known as the Meads. However, there was a problem. No one really expected to find much of note so there was little funding available to conserve and display the site and its items. The Sittingbourne Heritage Museum and Cambridge Archeology Trust (ARC) were willing to help excavate the site but there was just not enough money to engage in active preservation any time soon. A nearby professional conservator named Dana Goodburn-Brown came up with a brilliant idea: open a conservation/display site in a local shopping mall and engage supervised volunteers to conserve the found objects. The project was funded by the local museum and ARC and is ongoing today. The work continues far faster than it could have with future professional funding, and of course it engages the public as volunteers and interested viewers.

I love this brilliant approach to conservation and public interest in a spectacular archeological find. To read more about CSI: Sittingbourne you can start with their blog: http://anglosaxoncsi.wordpress.com/.