Trent Valley GeoArchaeology

The East Midlands Geophysical Survey Assessment

The Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund is funding through Defra and English Heritage a research project, based at the University of Nottingham, to assess the effectiveness of geophysical survey methods in an area focused upon the East Midlands and Staffordshire.  Particular emphasis is being placed upon the performance of geophysical survey in the Trent and Nene Valleys.  

The project outcomes will  be a database of past geophysical survey visits in the East Midlands up to the end of 2005, together with a detailed archive report and a published synthesis in an appropriate national journal.  It will be compatible with the English Heritage Geophysical Survey Database, and it is estimated that it will enhance that resource by approximately 1400 new entries.  

In order to assess the effectiveness of geophysical surveys, their results are being compared to subsequent evaluations and excavations. The conditions under which each survey was conducted are recorded, with full details of variables such as vegetation, cultivation and masking deposits. This work should provide a tool for predicting how effective a particular geophysical technique is likely to be over any given terrain within the region. The aim is to assist curators and archaeological contractors in the preparation of archaeological schemes of treatment and ensure more effective use of geophysical methods. The benefits of this project will be numerous. If geophysical surveys can be more accurately targeted to areas where they are likely to provide clear results, curators will be better placed to recommend them as an effective risk management method. This will enhance their effectiveness as an evaluation method, and hence will add significantly to their value from the perspective of curators, archaeological contracting organisations and developers.  

The project began in March 2006 and was completed in March 2007. A full report on the project is available for download below (2mb PDF)

Download the Final Report on the East Midland Geophysical Survey Assessment

Drs Mark Pearce (mark.pearce@nottingham.ac.uk) and David Knight (david.knight@nottingham.ac.uk) direct the project, with the assistance of Eileen Appleton (Trent & Peak Archaeological Unit). English Heritage are represented by Paddy O’Hara (Paddy.O’Hara@english-heritage.org.uk), and Dr Neil Linford (Neil.Linford@english-heritage.org.uk).