By Madeline Pelletier
Madeline Pelletier is a MA student in Public History at the University of York. This spring she is joining us on placement with the Collections and Archives team this spring semester, working with the JORVIK Viking Centre archives on rationalisation and cataloging.
Goodbye!
As I enter my last week on placement here at York Archaeology, I have been reflecting on my time with the JORVIK archive and my progress over the last few months. While initially, the task of rationalising the archive was a daunting one, as I had little experience working with archives, now, in my last week, I have become familiar with the processes and themes in archival work, and I am gratified with the work I have been able to produce. With the help of the Collections and Archives team I have learned about archival practice; how to physically handle and thematically categorize the archives. I first began by sorting the Attractions archive into JORVIK materials and materials unrelated to JORVIK. I then began categorizing the archive into groups of similar materials, and further creating subgroups within those categories.
Learning from the Archive
In order to categorize the archive, it was necessary for me to read much of the archives, and through doing so I broadened my knowledge about JORVIK and the history of York as a whole. I arrived in York in September to begin my MA, and by learning through the archive I have felt a new connection to the city I now call home. While I had visited JORVIK before the placement, I visited a second time, armed with newfound knowledge about York and the context behind the creation of JORVIK, its revolutionary nature, and the Coppergate excavation that preceded it. You can read more about my experience here.
I have now also had the opportunity to explore Barley Hall. While I have focused on the JORVIK archive I have also had the opportunity to learn about York Archaeology’s other attractions, and my visit to Barley Hall was an engaging and enlightening experience. Aside from written materials in the archive, there was also a selection of promotional objects, including balloons, bunting, a puzzle, and a fake beard. Many of the materials had striking images, like the selection of brightly coloured guidebook covers, and even a JORVIK promotion from the 1980s involving an American-themed pizza restaurant.
Final Thoughts
Currently, the archive is mostly catalogued; recorded and repackaged into archival safe packaging so that others can find what they are looking for in the future. I hope that the work I have done this semester can help future researchers better understand the formation of JORVIK as it continues to be an innovative and influential attraction today. I also hope that I have built a foundation from which other people working with the attractions archive can build upon, and that the work continues now that I am gone.
