WALPOLE LANDFILL SITE, PAWLETT, SOMERSET the archaeology

Evolution of the landscape on the shores of the Bristol Channel

Research Design & Environmental sampling Strategy

Walpole Landfill Site

worked Neolithic stake

N
6 5 4 3 -11m 17 12 78 11 9 -9m -7m -5m 13 14 16 15

Wal pole Landfill Si te

Viridor Waste Ltd. own and manage this large (over 100 ha) landfill site near the Somerset coast. Landfill cells are being excavated to a depth of c0.5m OD (the modern ground surface lies at around 5.5m OD). At this level the remains of waterlogged wooden structures associated with an extensive prehistoric salt marsh cut by the palaeochannels of substantial watercourses are exposed. Radiocarbon determinations place these structures in the early to late Neolithic period (roughly from 4,200 to 3,200BC). The southern part of the landfill extension is occupied by an island rising above the salt marsh, formed of a large outcrop of Lias stone and clay an outlier of the Polden ridge to the east. This island, now buried under c1.2m to c3m of alluvial clays, carries on its top archaeological finds and features ranging from the Neolithic to the Late Iron Age. The clays are cut by a later field system containing finds from the Late Iron Age to the medieval period.

2a 2 -3m

ISLAND
1
P WE07

PWE 06

10

50

100m 300ft
3 or areas

PWE1 0 PWE0 9

p alaeo chan nel b ed rock at c. 0 .6 m O D

timb er structu res ex cav ation areas

3m a pp rox. co ntou rs of so lid g eolo gy (b elo w s ur face)

petrified woo d

Plan of all excavated features. Excavations and other archaeological project work at the Walpole landfill site since 1999 have allowed detailed recording and sampling of archaeological features in a

WALPOLE LANDFILL SITE, PAWLETT, SOMERSET the archaeology Research Design &Environmental samples wetland/ coastal setting spanning from the Mesolithic to medieval and later field systems. Organic preservation is often excellent, and a number of buried surface deposits and stabilisation layers are preserved, sealed by estuarine clays. Viridor have placed responsibility for recording and investigating the archaeology of the landfill site with C & N Hollinrake Ltd. since the first planning application in 1999 and the site is scheduled to continue in construction until 2026. Archaeological sites of such size and complexity are uncommon and require careful research design, beginning with the recording and archiving of large quantities of data. The Walpole archive is likely to be consulted as a primary source of data for some time, therefore, it should be organized in such a way that retrieval of original data is as easy as possible.

Recording Strategy
Objective 1: The recording and archiving of an archaeological site should be sufficiently comprehensive to allow reconstruction of the site from the paperwork. Objective 2: Good archiving will make an important site even more important as more and more research is undertaken on the data. Good archiving will also help to fulfil the research aim of sharing the data from the site with other researchers and with the wider public. Methods: The site codes for finds and samples vary according to which part of Walpole is being excavated: Fieldwork on the salt marsh is recorded as PWL plus the year, whilst fieldwork on the buried island is recorded as PWE plus the year, eg: PWL05 was the site code used in first year on the salt marsh, and PWE06 was the first excavations of the island. The most recent programme of fieldwork generated site codes of PWE11 and PWE12. Recording conventions convention meaning Ax area number (xxx) [xxx] Fx <x> S or So u/s m slot Q Px Wx mOD notes contexts numbered from areas, starting with x00 for turf & topsoil fill/deposit cut enclosed in triangle on plans

context number context number finds number sample number sondage number unstratified machining sondages through cut [9015] quadrant (refers to special areas) hoofprint number wood number metres above Ordnance Datum (sea level)

WALPOLE LANDFILL SITE, PAWLETT, SOMERSET the archaeology Research Design &Environmental samples The flowchart below has several functions: Organization of the archive: to aid filing and data retrieval, a copy of this flowchart is in the front of all our Walpole files; it indicates what material should be in the individual file as well as where to look for other data. Recording strategy: listing the type of data to be stored in each file identifies the different classes of data collected during fieldwork. Procedures: routine strategies for processing environmental samples are integrated into the collation of and reporting on the annual fieldwork data, pointing out a backlog in the relationship between the two types of evidence, which is currently being addressed in another paper for the salt-marsh areas of the site. The flowchart demonstrates a need for regular assessment of the progress of the project, which is also being addressed. Personnel: while listing the various specialists who have already contributed to an understanding of the site, the flowchart also highlights gaps in the analysis, e.g. a lithic specialist has yet to be recruited, and Elaine Morris has not yet been commissioned to analyse the prehistoric pottery, since substantial quantities were not encountered until the fieldwork of 2011-12. Publications: sharing information is one of the research objectives of the Walpole project, yet there are far too few of either general or specific, specialist or popular publications, including websites. There are probably other uses of the flowchart that have not yet been appreciated.

WALPOLE LANDFILL SITE, PAWLETT, SOMERSET the archaeology Research Design &Environmental samples

WALPOLE LANDFILL SITE

Organization of Paperwork
Annual Fieldwork correspondence Samples arranged by Area processed notebooks context sheets levels sheets finds list sample list photocopies of site plans photocopies of inked illustrations photos report

annual sample lists sample sheets samples diary samples receipts

Annual Fieldwork Notes arranged by Area

sieved sp ID washed Geoflow Dana C&N Challinor Hollinrake C14 dates Waikato Special analysis reports

finds

Annual Fieldwork Report

environmental

fish mammals bones

wood

plant macrofossils Julie Jones pollen Heather Tinsley diatoms Nigel Cameron forams Annette Kreiser molluscs Matthew Law insects David Smith Sheila Hamilton-Dyer bone Lorain Higbee

dating soils Jennie Heathcote David Jordan David Norcott flint pottery Elaine Morris

hoof prints Martin Bell wood species Dana Challinor Rowena Gale worked wood Richard Brunning dendrochronology Nigel Nayling C14 Alistair Barkley

publications

WALPOLE LANDFILL SITE, PAWLETT, SOMERSET the archaeology Research Design &Environmental samples

Environmental Sampling
The research design underwriting environmental sampling at Walpole is best seen in the context of the overall research design outlined above. The different nature of the archaeology within the site the low-lying salt marsh and the buried island require slightly different sampling strategies. We begin by consideration of the strategies and priorities applied to work on the buried island. The buried island Aims and objectives: One of the strong points of the approach of this particular project is that many of the samples from the buried island contain environmental indicators relating to very localized conditions. Rather than the broad brush approach of deep core samples, this project is able to highlight the wide variety of local conditions reflecting the natural ecosystem as well as the effect of human exploitation of the landscape. Objective 1: Environmental analysis will focus on revealing these more subtle variations in the range of habitats available on site. Objective 2: evidence. 17/5/2012 The environmental evidence should be securely tied into the excavated