The Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire is one of the cradles of industrialisation. At its heart is the Iron Bridge spanning the River Severn, one of the world’s first iron bridges and an iconic image of the Industrial Revolution. The area’s role in helping to transform Britain into the world’s first industrial society earned it UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1986. Industrialisation in and around the gorge was shaped and constrained by the landscape and this is reflected in the range of extractive, manufacturing, and transport sites in the area. These include Abraham Darby’s coke-fired iron furnace of 1709, the first steel furnace in England at the Upper Forge, brick and tile works, canals, tramways, and workers’ housing.

The Archaeology of Ironbridge in 20 Digs explores a range of sites and material evidence excavated from the 1970s to the 2010s. It combines archaeological excavation with the analysis of the industrial and domestic buildings that helped to create the Ironbridge industrial community, and which continue to form an integral part of this internationally important twenty-first century landscape.