Nigel Nayling MA MIFA FSA
Contact Details
School of Archaeology, History and AnthropologyE-mail: n.nayling@trinitysaintdavid.ac.uk
Campus
Lampeter CampusJob Title
Lecturer in ArchaeologyRole in the University
Nigel teaches nautical archaeology and contributes to undergraduate and postgraduate modules including palaeoenvironmental archaeology and laboratory techniques. He runs the department's dendrochronology laboratory offering a commercial dating service and providing a facility for teaching and collaboration in research projects.Academic Interests
His research interests include wetland archaeology (particularly maritime studies of the Severn Estuary), tree-ring dating of submerged forests and the development of underwater approaches to dendrochronology.Publications
Forthcoming Nayling, N. The Application of Dendrochronology to Underwater Archaeology, in Tsang, C. International Symposium on Underwater Archaeology, Taiwan, 2008Forthcoming Bell, M., Manning, S. and Nayling, N. Dating later Mesolithic sites, submerged forests and coastal environmental change in western Britain in Crombe, P. (ed) Chronology and Evolution of the Mesolithic in North West Europe. Cambridge Scholars Press
2007 Nayling, N., and Manning, S. 2007 Dating the submerged forests: dendrochronology and radiocarbon ‘wiggle-match’ dating, in Bell, M. (ed) Prehistoric coastal communities: the archaeology of Western Britain 6000–3000 cal BC. CBA Research Report 149, 90-102
2007 Nayling, N. Dendrochronology, in Van de Noort, R., Chapman, H.P., and Collis, J.R. (eds) Sutton Common: The Excavation of an Iron Age 'Marsh Fort', CBA Research Report 154
2006 Brown, M., Bell, M., Timpany, S., and Nayling, N. Mesolithic to Neolithic and medieval coastal environmental change: intertidal survey at Woolaston, Gloucestershire, Archaeology in the Severn Estuary, 15, 67-83
2004 Bell, M., Allen, J. R. L., Buckley, S., Dark, P. and Nayling, N. Mesolithic to Neolithic coastal environmental change: excavations at Goldcliff East, 2003 and research at Redwick Archaeology in the Severn Estuary, 14, 1-26
2004 Nayling, N. and McGrail, S. The Barland's Farm Romano-Celtic Boat CBA Research Report 138
2002 Bell, M., Allen J.R.L., Nayling, N., and Buckley S. Mesolithic to Neolithic coastal environmental change c. 6500-3500 cal BC, Archaeology in the Severn Estuary 2001: Annual Report of the Severn Estuary Levels Research Committee, 12, 27-53
2002 Nayling, N. Environmental Archaeology, in Davidson, A., The coastal archaeology of Wales CBA Research Report 131, 25-32
2002 Nayling, N. The Gwent Levels, in Davidson, A., The coastal archaeology of Wales CBA Research Report 131, 109-115
2002 Nayling, N. Analysis of timber from the saw pit, in K. Blockley and I. Halfpenny Aberglasney House and Gardens: Archaeology, history and architecture, BAR British Series 334, 103-4
2000 Nayling, N. Further Bronze Age structures at Rumney Great Wharf, Wentlooge Level, Archaeology in the Severn Estuary 1999: Annual Report of the Severn Estuary Levels Research Committee, 10, 39-51
2000 Nayling, N. Medieval and later fish weirs at Magor Pill, Gwent Levels: coastal change and technological development, Archaeology in the Severn Estuary 1999: Annual Report of the Severn Estuary Levels Research Committee, 10, 93-113
2000 Nayling, N. A stone and wattle fish weir complex in Swansea Bay Archaeology in the Severn Estuary 1999: Annual Report of the Severn Estuary Levels Research Committee, 10, 115-24
1999 McGrail, S. and Nayling, N. A Romano-Celtic boat from South East Wales. A preliminary report. Construction navale maritime et fluviale. Approches archeologique, historique et ethnologique. Archaeonautica, 14, 57-62
2000 Nayling, N. The Magor Pill medieval wreck. CBA Research Report 115
1997 Nayling N., and Caseldine A. 1997 Excavations at Caldicot, Gwent: Bronze Age Palaeochannels in the Lower Nedern Valley. CBA Research Report 108
Redknap, M. and Nayling, N. 1997 Coastal transport in 13th-century Wales, with special reference to the Magor Pill boat: a preliminary statement, in: De Boe, G. and Verhaeghe, F. (eds) 1997 Travel technology and organisation in Medieval Europe: papers of the 'Medieval Europe Brugge 1997' Conference. I.A.P. Rapporten, 8, 29-39
1996 Hunter K., and Nayling N. Counting the Cost: Caring for an Excavated Boat. In Hoffman P., Grant T., Spriggs J. A. and Daley T. (eds) Proceedings of the 6th ICOM Group on Wet Organic Materials Conference, 473-83
1995 Nayling N., and McGrail S. 1995 Barland’s Farm, Magor, Gwent: a Romano-Celtic boat find Archaeology in the Severn Estuary 1994: Annual Report of the Severn Estuary Levels Research Committee, 5, 59-66
1995 Nayling N., Maynard D., and McGrail S. Barland’s Farm, Magor, Gwent: a Romano-Celtic boat Antiquity 68, 596-603
Recent Reports
Research and consultancy work are undertaken through the department's Archaeological Services division.
2009 Dendrochronological Spot Date Report: Disarticulated Framing Timber, Studland Bay
2009 Nant Farm (G2010) Prehistoric Burnt Mound, Porth Neigwl, Llanengan, Gwynedd: Wood Assemblage Assessment
2009 Tree-Ring Analysis and Wood Identification of Samples from The 'Mystery Wreck' off Horsetail Sands, Eastern Solent, England
2008 The Norman's Bay Wreck, East Sussex: Tree-ring Analysis of Ship Timbers. English Heritage Research Report Department Series 25-2008
2008 Tree-ring Analysis of Timbers from Llancynfelin Trackway, Borth Bog, Ceredigion
Additional Information
Current Research Projects:
ShipShape: solid modelling and visualisation of the Newport Medieval Ship from 3D digital record. Arts and Humanities Research Council funded (Research Grants - Museums, Archives and Libraries), October 2008-March 2011
The Newport Ship is the most substantial medieval ship found in Britain in modern times. Following its discovery in 2002, the ship was dismantled and the individual timbers recovered for detailed recording, analysis and eventual conservation. The recovery of the ship reflected strong local support for its rescue and display, mirrored by widespread academic interest. The ship is important at a number of levels: as a major archaeological find which has galvanised sustained community support for heritage, and as a rare survival of a clinker-built ship of the late medieval period, constructed on the Atlantic seaboard. Since its recovery, the thousands of timbers making up the find have been recorded using 3-dimensional recording arms to produce a digital record of the ship's structural elements. The waterlogged timbers now need to undergo chemical treatments to remove contaminants such as iron and sulphur and then be actively conserved. These processes will take some time (of the order of 4-6 years) and in the meantime public interest (demonstrated by tens of thousands of visitors to the Newport Ship Centre) needs to be sustained whilst the timbers are less accessible. An interim exhibition which addresses some of the most common questions asked by the public (which also parallel key research objectives) such as "What did the ship look like?", "How big was the ship?", "How much cargo could it carry?" will be based on a programme of research focused on reconstruction of the ship's original hull form. The ship remains had been distorted over centuries of burial and the original size and shape of the vessel cannot be readily determined. Traditional approaches to such research questions have included the construction of scale research models in fragile materials such as card which are not suitable for display. This project will realise 
the potential of the 3-dimensional digital record of each timber by firstly building an accurate virtual solid model of each timber. A precise 1:10 scale physical copy of each piece will then be manufactured using a process called 'laser sintering'. This process has been developed to allow production of short runs of high precision models such as prototypes. Pieces are manufactured in a thermoplastic (Polyamide 12) which can be bent using tension and/or the application of moderate heat. The dynamic exhibition will evolve over time as the scale model, which will act as the centrepiece, is built following the original construction order of the ship. Existing display panels will be updated to explain the research and its outcomes, redressing reduced access to the ship timbers during their conservation treatment. Research outputs will also include enhanced website information, journal articles and conference papers. Feedback from public audience responses to the exhibition will be used to help develop display concepts for the permanent display of the ship once all the timbers have been displayed. The creation of the exhibition and the research underpinning it will be achieved through development of an existing relationship between Newport Museum and Heritage Service (keeper of the Newport Ship) and the University of Wales Lampeter which has provided archaeological consultancy support since the ship's discovery.
Nigel Nayling is the Principal Investigator for this project.
Filling in the blanks in European dendrochronology: building a multidisciplinary research network to assess Iberian wooden cultural heritage worldwide. Dutch National Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) funded, September 2009 – March 2011
Dendrochronology is used throughout Europe to answer questions about cultural heritage, such as the age and origin of wooden artefacts, economy, trade and the technological aspects of ancient craftsmanship. For the Iberian Peninsula existing tree-ring chronologies are too short and few to allow such studies, resulting in inadequate assessments of wooden heritage in and originating from this region. This is illustrated by the unknown origin of the so-called “Flemish” oak used in 16th-century Spanish altarpieces (called “Flemish” in Spain because the timber was purchased from merchants from the Low Countries), and by our inability to date and confirm the Iberian origin of certain shipwrecks found in the North Sea. Equally, 15th- and 16th-century wrecks of ocean-going Spanish vessels found in the New World remain unidentified and undated, as well as Armada and earlier wrecks of supposed Iberian origin found along the British and Irish coasts. In order to improve the assessment of wooden heritage from this region a structurally anchored international research network (archaeologists, dendrochronologists, conservators, and historians) will catalogue existing dendrochronological data from Spain and Portugal as well as develop and refine the research agenda and design strategies for further chronology compilation. Results will be published and used by the network in national and international research proposals.
Nigel Nayling is an advisor and potential data contributor to this project
Submerged Prehistoric Landscapes and Archaeology of the continental Shelf (SPLASH). European Union, Cooperation in Science and Technology Action, October 2009-May 2013
The Action aims to develop a large-scale international network of research collaboration, bringing together archaeologists, marine geophysicists, environmental scientists and commercial and industrial organizations operating on the European seabed. The grant is worth about 500,000 Euros over a four-year period, and funds are dedicated to meetings, workshops, conferences, visits to laboratories, training programs, technical and scientific publications, and dissemination to a wider public.
The main objectives are to promote research on the investigation, interpretation and management of the drowned landscapes and prehistoric archaeology of the European continental shelf, which form a major but hidden part of the European cultural heritage, to create a structure for the development of new interdisciplinary and international research proposals, and to provide guidance to heritage professionals, government agencies, commercial organisations, policy makers and a wider public on the relevance of underwater research to European history, and to the understanding of sea level change and its social relevance and likely future impact.
More information at the International Science Grid. and the University of York Web site
Nigel Nayling (along with Martin Bates) formed part of the list of experts submitted as part of the successful application
