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Descriptions of conservation practice typically tend to focus on the range of activities under-taken by conservators and on the quality of the outcomes achieved. Using case studies, this paper examines the conservation tasks that can be explored within teaching, from undergraduate through to postgraduate level, and describes how these can be used to help practitioners effectively develop and achieve the competencies required in the sector. In higher education, the need to show this developmental framework explicitly, capturing progressive challenge in an auditable way when all of the students are doing ‘conservation’, is an increasing pressure. By setting out this progression in terms of com-\udplexity and using the language employed in education to describe an increasing sophistication in conservation practice the sector as a whole creates the opportunity to offer descriptions of the degree of sophistication of expert\udpractitioners. This may be useful in workplace discussions, as colleagues sometimes struggle to understand the complexity underlying proficient practice.

Trends in the management of education and\ud demands from students for clarity in assessment\ud resulted in the grading of course work being\ud extensively articulated and described. Students\ud rightly expect to know what they will be marked\ud on and what constitutes work of an appropriate\ud level. This can lead to the disarticulation of a\ud topic into tiny graded fragments that no longer\ud equate to a ‘whole’ professional experience.\ud This paper looks at changes to the assessment\ud of practical conservation in Cardiff University\ud that attempt to offer an assessment of conservation\ud as a complete professional activity whilst\ud respecting the student and administrative demands\ud for clarity and accountability.

This paper considers a range of assessment methods available in conservation, it evaluates aspects by which they can be described and evaluates the priorities expressed by stakeholder groups. Responses show that there is a strong community of practice with all conservators having similar priorities for conservation assessment with conservation practice being the priority for all. The authors use this data to rate the applicability of the different assessment methods to the stakeholders priorities based on their specific use in a conservation teaching context at Cardiff University. This illustrates how educators can review forms of assessments to ensure that what the students are assessed in, and therefore what they learn, matches with the expectations of different communities.

Three of the leading heritage agencies in Wales formed a partnership to commission an investigation into the needs of archaeological collections. These span some 230,000 years from the first known arrival of early humans in Wales to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The project was intended to gather evidence to inform policy makers to help plan the future needs for archaeological storage and to promote the value of the archaeological record.

The Spotlight on Museums report aims to provide baseline information to CyMAL to inform the development of Welsh Assembly Government policy for museums in the next few years. CyMAL also plan to use the results of this survey to inform priorities for their development work including grant and training programmes.

Great Castle Head Iron Age promontory fort has some of the most massive defences of all the coastal forts of Pembrokeshire. However, due to coastal erosion, it has one of the smallest surviving internal areas and the remains are bisected by a former landslip. The threat posed by continuing erosion prompted a survey and rescue excavation in the summer of 1999. The site is characterised by two lines of defences each consisting of a bank, a ditch and a counterscarp bank. It is suggested that the original entrance was adjacent to the cliff edge to the north of the surviving defences and that the present entrance through the outer defences probably dates to the earlier 20th century. The results of the excavation indicated that the inner bank had at least three phases of construction, with the earliest phase possibly dating to the Early or Middle Iron Age. It seems probable that the more massive, second phase of the defences dates to the late Iron Age although a later date cannot be ruled out. Evidence from the interior of the fort indicated intensive occupation during the later prehistoric period. However, no clear structures could be identified due to the fragmentary nature of the results from the small area that was excavated. The third phase of inner bank construction suggests that the site was re-fortified during the late 12th and 13th centuries A.D. Further evidence for mediaeval activity is provided by a spread of pottery within the interior of the fort. It is argued that there is a strong case to suggest that, during this period, Great Castle Head became the site of a small mediaeval castle.