D. Morgan Rees: A Welsh Industrial Archaeologist for Welsh Industrial Heritage

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-26-2026

Department

Department of Social Sciences; Department of Chemical Engineering; Center for Cybersecurity; Department of Computer Science; Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences

Abstract

David Morgan Rees was one of the leading pioneers to champion the remarkable industrial heritage and archaeology of Wales, injecting a drive for industrial history, preservation and interpretation into Welsh national institutions. Rees’ advocacy led to the founding of the first society in south Wales dedicated to industrial archaeology, and he was instrumental in establishing the Welsh Industrial and Maritime Museum that opened in 1977 as the first museum dedicated to the broad interpretation of Welsh industrial heritage. His legacy shapes how the industrial past is respected and shared today. This paper, driven by archival and landscape evidence, explores those hidden pasts and futures of Rees and industrial archaeology found throughout the echoes of the former Welsh Industrial and Maritime Museum, its replacement in Swansea, the National Waterfront Museum, and various industrial sites and collections of Museum Wales. In doing so, the larger question of how biographical bureaucracies can linger on throughout sites as both tangible and intangible industrial heritage is addressed.

Publication Title

Industrial Archaeology Review

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