Principal Christine Shaw
This project was initiated by Peter Reynolds prior to his death and is now being progressed on behalf of the Trust by the co-ordinator, Joyce Herve.
Work was begun late in 1999, following discussions with Surrey University and other interested parties. The present key supporters are Portsmouth University, while Utsi Electronics Ltd. expressed an early interest in making use of the test facility. Portsmouth University now has a number of active programmes using the facility and additional feaures have been added to the site since it was first completed. The construction of the Roman Villa required the use of some of this site for storage and marshalling of materials. This had the serendipitous effect of masking some of the early superficial construction features. The site has now been surface ploughed to restore it and grass / other flora have colonised it, so that most of the signs of the original construction have now disappeared.
The purpose of the test bed is to provide a well-recorded set of sub-surface "archaeological remains" under growing crops, so that training in the use and evaluation of the performance of geophysical test method equipment can be carried out. It is an educational resource for teaching students, as well as allowing more experienced operators to use or explore the possibilities of newer methods. The features described below have now been documented and have been buried.
In order to provide a "blind test" for users, the earlier illustrations of the "remains" have been removed. A variety of constructs and materials have been included. Linear features of different depths, widths, orientations and both with and without wall foundations have been built. The wall foundations are of brick or flint. There is a "floor" level and originally there were only two pits (one a plain bell mouth and the other a bottle mouth). There are two ditch systems with variations in construction details along their lengths. The site was completed during 2002.
Plans to plant a crop in the field are currently in abeyance. There are still debates as to whether a cereal crop would, over the short term, influence the results obtained. Additionally, the presence of any crop could interfere with the availability of the site to students at times when they require access. Some settlement had occurred naturally, even before the use for materials storage. No such use, nor any superficial ploughing will completely simulate a protracted period of burial, settlement, field use and bioturbation. Additional features will continue to be introduced as required, subject to an agreement with Portsmouth University.
This page will be updated as appropriate and it will be particularly exciting to view the scene once any crop emerges, for example, to see how early, during periods of drought, any crop shadows are present.
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Created 01 August 2001 - Updated 10 December 2004