6 CONTEXT 188 : JUNE 2026 Although set in an international context, three other papers are worthy of note. One by Mona S El-Basha of the department of architecture, engineering at the Higher Institute of Engineering and Technology, Alexandria, discusses the integration of archaeological sites into the urban context of historic city centres. The author compares the approaches in Athens and Rome with current conservation and urban planning practices in Egypt, particularly Alexandria. The tensions between policy constraints and shifting practice in the approach to adaptive reuse in Jakarta have some interesting lessons. Extemporising on a Unesco theme, the third paper of interest exposes the tensions between development and antiquity, using the conundrum of ancient Indian heritage sites. There are more than 40 world heritage sites in India and more than 60 on the tentative list, and numerous other sites of cultural heritage importance. Few of these have been systematically documented, nor are their management practices well developed. The well-illustrated paper by four authors at different planning and architecture schools at various Indian universities concludes that, disappointingly, there is much mismanagement, poor planning and inadequate conservation practice, resulting in the loss of heritage identity. They cite the 2,500-year-old Ekamra Kshetra site as typical of those requiring guidelines to formulate policies for both conservation and sustainable management.That is perhaps worth thinking about in relation to long-declared UK conservation areas that have no character appraisal or manage- ment plan. The Construction Historian A modest previously unresearched urban feature of heritage significance will sometimes excite local interest, with investigation leading to synthesising evidence from experts. In The Construction Historian, the magazine of the Construction History Society (No 16,Winter 2025/26), such a case is made by Susan Major in piecing together the story of scoria bricks laid in the back alleys of York, a distinctive feature playing a significant role in the history of that city’s urban landscape. The visually very distinctive paviours appear widely, and are currently being mapped.They are also found elsewhere in northeast England, particularly in parts of County Durham and NorthYorkshire. Scoria bricks or blocks, with a most attractive shiny, silver-blue appearance, were made from slag left over from the iron industry. The author illustrates the charming appearance and ingenious methods of laying (at one stage using clever machinery patented in 1869), and identifies the role of Joseph Woodward (1824–88) in creating this element ofYork’s urban landscape. The author writes that she would be delighted to learn of any other examples surviving in the north of England. This reviewer notes The Construction Historian’s enduring interest in the peculiarities of nail fixings (featured as an issue as long ago as 2013). The latest issue provides numerous examples, the most notable of which relate to selfanchoring nails and variations in Baltic innovations. Several authors cite examples in southern Sweden, northern Germany and Jutland. Some of the many illustrated examples can be dated to as early as c600 CE. Others stretch the chronology of such humble fixing through the 15th century to the late 1870s. A third item of particular note relates to an experiment described as work in progress, to identify the people and skills that were required to make medieval English vaults. The article by Alex Buchanan, Glen Cahilly-Bretzin and Nick Webb is accompanied by highly informative illustrations of the setting out and assembly of the trusses and posts that commonly appear in medieval illustrations of arch centring, and various jointing methods using period-appropriate carpentry methods.This ongoing work, refining the frame designs in trials using locally sourced timbers and axe-hewn framing to provide an invaluable understanding of medieval construction, is being funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The project is seen as a stepping stone to further cross-sector collaborations to refine the theoretical and practical understanding of historical craftspeople and their practical methods. The project also helps to bridge the divide between the abstract knowledge of historical craft skills and their continuing application among heritage builders. SPAB Magazine In his editorial in the Spring 2026 issue of the SPAB Magazine, SPAB chief executive Matthew Slocombe notes that prospects have not improved regarding the highly contentious issue of VAT on the repair and maintenance of listed buildings, despite a reduced rate looking more possible after Brexit. The chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Conservative MP Dame Caroline Dinenage, acknowledged at a recent hearing that (unsurprisingly) ‘the Treasury is very reluctant’ to address the issue, notwithstanding support from Historic England’s new co-chief executive Emma Squire, based on the economic benefits and international comparisons.
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