Excavation history
In 2013 and 2014 a small team of university students and volunteers excavated several trenches on the lower gravel and chalk terraces rising to the north of the current River Granta. Earlier test pits and geophysical survey suggested a dynamic and varied geological landscape and one of the goals of the excavation was to locate evidence for prehistoric occupation overlooking the older river channels that had existed at different times in the past.
Click here for a pdf of the 2013 report
Click here for a pdf of the 2014 report
Geophysical surveys
As part of student-led research, one of our 2014-2015 Mphils conducted a geophysical survey of features at Bury Farm in April 2015. Conor McAdams and David Redhouse conducted complementary magnetometry and resistivity surveys in the field section just east of the Haverhill road and north of the ACE Granary. There discoveries confirmed earlier aerial photography which showed a square structure and semi-circular feature in this area. It is possible the semi-circular feature is a remnant of a Bronze Age barrow (similar to those recorded at the nearby Little Trees barrows). The square structure is more problematic to recognise simply from the outline, but may be Roman or later in time. Both will be ground-truthed in future excavations in 2015.
As part of the 2012 and 2013 Training Excavations, Part IIA students in the Department of Archaeology helped map and survey the Bury Farm research area. The training each year included topographical survey of the fields, geophysical prospection and augering survey. Here is some of the feedback from the students and what they accomplished!
Training Dig 2012
This was the first year that the Part IIA training took place at Bury Farm and students were involved primarily in topographical survey of Field A (Big Field) and Field B (Wonky Field) as well as further augering of Rickett's Woods and Field B in order to delineate prehistoric palaeochannels. Students also conducted magnetometry in Field B.
What they found was:
1. The contours of the mid-terrace of the River Granta in Field A and lower-terraces in Field B.
2. The gravel and sand geology that makes up the lower terrace topography.
3. The presence of an old palaeochannel elbow or oxbow at the edge of the terrace in Field B.
Training Dig 2013
In this second year of Part IIA training at Bury Farm we continued to trace the lower terrace and edge of the palaeochannels in our geophysical, topographical and augering surveys. The group moved from Field B into the newly designated Field C, moving us closer to the edge of Stapleford.
What they found was:
1. A large floodplain to the River Granta throughout most of the field
2. A large and deep fragment, or elbow, of a palaeochannel reaching almost 5 meters in depth and spanning almost 30 meters in width
