Industrial Archaeology (IA) is the systematic study of material
evidence associated with the industrial past. This evidence,
collectively referred to as industrial heritage, includes
buildings, machinery, artifacts, sites, infrastructure,
documents and other items associated with the production,
manufacture, extraction, transport or construction of a product
or range of products. The field of industrial archaeology
incorporates a range of disciplines including archaeology,
architecture, construction, engineering, historic preservation,
museology, technology, urban planning and other specialties, in
order to piece together the history of past industrial
activities. The scientific interpretation of material evidence
is often necessary, as the written record of many industrial
techniques is often incomplete or nonexistent. Industrial
archaeology includes both the examination of standing structures
and sites that must be studied by an excavation. The field of
industrial archaeology developed during the 1950s in G