Opportunistic Prospecting

Many people, archaeologist or not, can’t resist looking into a hole in the ground. Whether it’s a trench across the road, foundations for a neighbour’s new extension or even the underside of a wind-felled tree, we stop and look.

What we see depends on knowledge, experience and interest: soil characteristics, geology, construction methods or foundations of known buildings.

 

As a dog owner I’m out most days, usually walking familiar areas of the heathland near home. This familiarity makes small changes most familiar. New burrows of moles or minotaur beetles reveal the depth of topsoil. Sheep tracks create sections through mediaeval field boundaries over the course of a few weeks. A fallen tree provides a sample of soil and subsoil. Rabbit burrows reveal the real nature of a mound – not a mining tip but unused ashes from brake-burning. I’ve yet to find pottery or other finds in any of these but I do now have an understanding of the topsoil depth and quality.

I do wonder whether I should be more systematic in my appreciation of these reveals, actually recording what I see. Notes on what’s shown, a couple of photos and a GPS location. I can see though that this could become an obsession, ending up with a detailed database of beetle, mole and sheep activity. Perhaps not then.

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