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MAHG
carries out its own geophysical surveys and members are encouraged to
join in to gain an understanding of; the types of geophysical survey and
how they are carried out; interpretation of the results; and, how the
results are used
to plan future excavations.
For an
introduction to geophysical surveying paste the web site address below
into your internet browser:
http://www.sussexarch.org.uk/geophys/index.html
PROJECTS:
Little
Baddow Orchard:
Chelmsford
Area:
Coggeshall
Abbey:
Burnham:
Ulting
Church:
Beeleigh
Abbey:
Hadstock
Church:
Bicknacre
Priory:
Lawling
Creek:
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Little
Baddow Orchard:
A
recent geophysical survey at a Little Baddow Orchard area presented some
interesting results and may be a target for future MAHG excavation.
Results are shown below:
A
further resistivity survey was carried out on the 27th April 2008 to see if
there was any evidence of a possible kiln site in an area historically
used for clay & gravel extraction for tile manufacturing. The
results have persuaded us to carry some targeted excavations to resolve
some interesting anomalies:
Field
Report as at 10 May 2008;
Excavation
of two sites have revealed nothing of significance. There will be no
work on site this coming Saturday (17th May 2008) but there will be a
meeting on site on Saturday 25th May 2008 to examine a ring feature. For
further information contact either Brian Riley or Stuart MacPherson.
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Chelmsford
Area:
We
were invited by one of our Chelmsford members to carry out a resistivity survey
to investigate some unusual crop marks. Brian, Stuart, Dave P, Bernie, Michael and Simon, armed to the teeth with resistivity kit, tapes, and 'stakes',
etc, went to have a little look see.
These
are the results:
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Coggeshall
Abbey:
In
the summer of 1865 crop marks were noticed by a Rev Dampier; the fact
that they were noticeable from low elevation, the highest point being
from the upstairs window of the nearby house, that summer is remarkable.
The whole size of the church was measured from these marks. It
would appear that test pits were dug in various points as the
foundations were noticed as being consistently 5 feet deep. As only
foundations were noted it would appear that nothing above foundation
level remained. This information formed the basis of a plan drawn up for
the 1950's survey 'Coggeshall Abbey and its early brickwork' by J. S.
Grainger.
The
following image is an aerial photograph, possibly taken in the summer of 1976.
With
five MAHG members on site on Saturday the 20th May 2006 success was
guaranteed! By late afternoon we had marked out and carried out a
resistivity survey over four 20 m x 20 m grids which should have taken
in all of the Abbey church area. The results of the survey are shown
below. The data appears to show the foot print of the Abbey church. The next task is to
report back to our hosts with regard
to our findings and suggested course of action.
The
following information has been
prepared by Bernard Mutton and and assists in the interpretation of the
aerial photograph and geophysical survey results obtained by MAHG.
A
copy of the resistivity survey report can be downloaded here:
Should
there be any more detailed investigation this would most likely to be in
2007. We would like to thank Mr
& Mrs Hadlee for inviting us to support them in their archaeological
investigation of this fascinating site and for their warm hospitality.
Front
of
House
Cloister
Infirmary
Chapel
Infirmary Cloister
Boathouse
Gate Chapel
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Burnham:
Dig completed 29th April 2006. Preliminary report has been completed and
a copy is held in the MAHG Headquarters library. There are some lesser crop marks seen in standing crops in an adjacent field
which may be subject to future geophysical survey (see Projects).
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Ulting
Church Site: A geophysical survey was carried out along one side of
the church in 2007, to establish the site of a demolished Guild chapel.
The results were promising.
Ulting
Geophys Team hard at work ......... (Brian Riley (r), Michael Steel (l),
and Geoff Austin (centre))
A
small scale excavation
was carried out by MAHG in 2010 based upon the geophysical
pseudo-sections shown below; the
purpose being
to locate the remains of lost a chapel which was dedicated to the
Virgin Mary.
MAHG has put forward proposals for
excavation at the site, which currently await the granting of a faculty.
MAHG
hopes that it can provide material evidence for the existence of
this chapel which vanished from human eye over 450 years ago.
Research
by Dr Janet Cooper who, for many years was
Editor of the Victorian County History, gives a full account of this
chapel and
much of what follows
is based on that article (‘The
Cult of Our Lady of Ulting,’ by
Dr Janet Cooper, published in Essex
Archaeology and History 2003).
In
1317, Thomas of Ulting, lord of Ulting Manor founded a chantry of
the Virgin Mary, building a new aisle or chapel onto Hatfield Peverel
priory church. This was abandoned some years later as there were
not enough funds to maintain it.
During
the course of the 15th century, a chapel was built on
the end of the west wall of Ulting Church.
The
guild or fraternity to maintain the chapel elected two wardens
and it had enough endowments to support a chaplain who was
to pray for Edward 1V (1461-1483) and his wife, Elizabeth, both during
their lifetime and for their souls after death. The
chapel
continued to attract bequests and, in return, prayers were to be offered
to the benefactors and their souls.
The
centre piece of the chapel was a statue of the Virgin Mary. Ulting
became a place of
pilgrimage in common with the shrines of Thomas of Canterbury,
Our Lady of Walsingham and Our Lady of Ipswich.
When
Edward VI (1547-1553) came to the throne, the catholic elements
in the Church in England were increasingly removed and inevitably
the chapel, with its veneration of Mary, was dissolved along with all
the other guilds and chantries in the country. The
chapel was demolished
and its lead worth £8 and its timber, tile, glass, iron and stone
worth £2 6s 8d were sold by the crown.
Although
the church underwent restoration in 1873 to designs by the Chelmsford
architect Frederick Chancellor when the east and west walls
were rebuilt, it remains essentially a 13th
century building
untouched by 15th century
alterations.
Dr
Cooper concludes that this was
because, in her words, ‘The
energies of its late medieval parishioners
clearly went into the chantry chapel, which was so completely
demolished in 1549 that no trace of it or memory of its cult
seems to have survived the 16th century.’
You can download a reprint of the article as it appeared in the Essex
Journal, Autumn 2003 by clicking on the icon below:
Further
resistivity surveys have been carried out during 2010 using the probes
as an array to provide pseudo sections across the site. Some of the
results are shown below:
-
The
following two grids, Grid 33 which intersects grid 32 seems to show
a very varied level of resistance so we're not convinced that
there's anything there, unless it's been robbed away or disturbed.
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Grid
34 shows something at the points we were hoping to see high
resistance; at about 7 metres and 3.5 metres. Although the one at
3.5 metres is close to the path and therefore compressed soil. We
can't imagine that the compressed soil would be giving high
resistance up to a meter down, so we may have some form of masonry
at that position.
Grid
33:
Grid
34:
-
Grid
35 below seems to show the wall continuing underground at 7 metres,
with a strange level of high resistance leading off of it to the
right at 1.4 metres down. It also shows an area of high resistance
to the left of it.
-
Grid
36 below shows a very level layer of high resistance in the middle
which could be down to a wall running along the section, or, as
there is gravel on the surface, an area cleared and then in-filled
with gravel at some point in time. There is also a deeper area of
high resistance at the left end of the section which could be a wall.
Grid
35:
Grid
36:
-
Grids
37, 38 and 39 below; grid
37
picks up the supposed wall as expected. Grid 38 also shows the
wall and a possible area of higher resistance 1.1 metres down.
Although grid 39 does show the wall, looking at the top section it
shows the only area of high resistance is at a single reading which
could be an error due to a loose survey pin.
Grid
37:
Grid
38:
Grid
39:
Grid
40:
Grid
41:
-
Grids
50 and 51 below: Grid 50 appears to confirm the
resistivity plan, that the feature does not continue West and that
there is an area of high resistivity starting at 8
metres.
Even with the
challenges on site and the data obtained, Grid 51 ties in
reasonably well with previous grids, taking into account the
variations in ground moisture and the wide range of patterns across
the ground generally. For
instance 2 m on Grid 51 is the same point as 6 m on 35m and is quite
similar . Also Grid 51 intersects Grid 38 at 2m on Grid 51 and 6 m
on Grid 38 again with very similar patterns. A consistent foundation
would show at approximately 6 m and one does not appear there.
There are some very strange readings in that area on both Grid 51
and Grid 41(parallel).However we now have the plan and 2 sections
showing no foundation. The last grid in this area should be a
20 m section which might give more insight into the lower
levels . If that shows no foundation then we can say there is
no discernable evidence from the geophys results, which have to date
proven to be reliable.
Grid
50:
Grid
51:
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Beeleigh
Abbey: A number of such surveys have been carried out as a
part of the planning process, with very much mixed results in view of
the significant scatter of demolition debris. Surveys were conducted
using a resistivity meter, magnetometry (by Essex County Council's Field
Archaeological Unit), and even divining rods.
It
is intended to carry out a further resistivity survey at a nearby site
during 2008 where, according to the 1873 OS map, a building existed
which has since been demolished. It is intended that an excavation of
that site will follow. A nearby mound will also be investigated.
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Hadstock
Church: Situated North of Saffron Walden, this is an impressive late
Saxon building. The Hadstock Society were interested to know whether the
church once extended beyond its present confines. Unfortunately the
survey was conducted when the ground was very wet which might account
for the inconclusive results.
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Bicknacre Priory:
The combined results of a series of resistivity surveys carried out
in 2007 and 2008 are shown in figure 1 below. The survey of part of the site of the demolished priory
reveals the clear
outlines of wall foundations.
Figure 1
Further geophysical surveys
were carried out in 2009 and 2010 using a linear probe arrangement (Wenner
Array) of the resistivity survey equipment; placed across potential wall
lines to provide vertical pseudo-sections in an attempt to locate the East and
West ends of the church and sample across the linear anomalies to the
East of the church. The results are shown in figure 2 below:
Figure 2
Further geophysical surveys
are planned for 2011, also using a linear probe arrangement, to try to
provide further definition as to potential Priory remains or indications
of robbed out wall lines, and the once over-lying farmhouse that was
constructed among the earlier standing remains of the Priory.
Figure 3 below is a
conjectural plan of Bicknacre Priory, related structures and fish ponds,
prepared by Bernard Mutton, overdrawn onto the relevant Ordinance map to
provide a contextual view of the potential Priory layout within the
local landscape This plan should not in anyway be construed as actual
layout, hopefully more surveys and possible test pitting will determine
the shape of the priory conclusively. Acknowledgement is made to
Ordinance Survey's copyright of the underlying mapping.
Figure 3
Figure 4 below provides a
larger view of conjectural plan of Bicknacre Priory (as inferred in
Figure 3 above), as prepared by Bernard
Mutton. Just to restate the previous caveat, this should not in anyway
be construed as the actual layout of the Priory, which has yet to be
proven by further geophysical surveying and, hopefully, test pitting.
Figure 4: Conjectural
Layout Based on Typical Augustinian Plans
Interpretation of
geophysical survey results obtained to date has not been able to confirm
this plan. The interpretation of data derived so far from geophysical
surveys is proving to be extremely
challenging.
The following illustrations
provide examples of the results of various resistivity based
pseudo-sections. The approximate positions and direction of cross
sections 1 - 4 below are shown in figure 2 above.
Cross Section One - Across two walls running
from the arch heading east.
Cross Section Two - Runs parallel to the
priory wall lines, crossing the eastern end of church.
Cross Section Three - Runs parallel to the
priory wall lines, on the west side, possibly crossing robber trenches
where a western end wall of church once was.
Cross Section Four - Runs across a sample
target to the east of the priory, possibly natural geology.
Cross Section Five - Runs west / east across the possible
natural geology to the east of the arch.
Cross Section Six - Runs south / north across the anomaly to
the south-west of the arch.
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Lawling Creek:
The regular alignment of field boundaries on the Dengie Peninsula
provided circumstantial evidence that this was once a Roman Imperial
Estate. This assumption was strengthened by the considerable quantity of
Roman pottery found on the adjacent foreshore of the River Blackwater.
The results of a geophysical survey were inconclusive. The site may be
revisited.
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MAHG
