Site Code. OAKLANDS12Site identification

and addressPlaying Field, Oaklands Park, Sedlescombe

County, district

and / or boroughEast Sussex

O.S. grid ref. TQ786176Geology. Alluvium and Clay Head over Ashdown SandsProject number. SNUFFLER1206Fieldwork type. Geophysics and GeoarchaeologySite type.Date of fieldwork. July 2012Sponsor/client. Sedlescombe Parish Council and IHRGProject manager. David StaveleyProject

supervisor.Period summary Roman

Project summary.

(100 word max)

Geophysics in advance of a watching brief on the site of a car park extension, just to the north of the Oaklands Park Roman iron-working site

Geophysics and Geoarchaeology at Oaklands Parkby David Staveley

Introduction

Whilst preparing to undertake a large scale research project on the site of the Oaklands Park iron working Site at Sedlescombe with the Independent Historical Research Group, the author was informed that the car park in the flood plain of the River Brede, to the north of the iron workings, was being extended eastwards. Sedlescombe Parish Council very kindly allowed the group to investigate the area in advance of the building work and its watching brief. It has long been suspected that there was a Roman port somewhere in the area, and the purpose of this investigation was to find evidence of this.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Sedlescombe Parish Council for making this survey possible, Ash Davey for helping to prepare the site and IHRG members, Robin Hodgekinson, Brian Powell and Robin Broadbridge for helping out with the survey.

Methodology

The geophysics survey was undertaken using a Bartington GRAD601-2 fluxgate gradiometer, walking east-west along lines spaced 1 metre apart and recording 4 readings per metre. The data was processed using Snuffler geophysics software, with despike, destripe and interpolation (Y only) filters applied.

The two bore holes were augered using a hand auger to a depth of 1.8 metres each.

Positioning

The 40 metre geophysics grid was set out using tapes and everything was recorded using a total station on an arbitrary grid. Two resection points and the survey area are described in the table below. The location of these points are also shown on the interpretation image.

Description Grid North Grid EastRS1: E side of W gatepost at entrance to field 481.58 455.84RS2 : W side of yellow topped S post of gate NE corner of field 597.92 529.23G1 488.41 504.09G2 527.90 497.15G3 536.02 536.44B1 483.47 509.51B2 502.01 539.00

Geophysics Results

Interpretation

The extension to the car park is shown as a purple line. The geophysics survey area is shown as a dotted black line. The areas marked in green are most likely geological, probably a geology associated with the silting of the floodplain, such as gley. The 4 dotted red lines crossing the survey area north-south are most likely land drains. The rest of the red areas are related to modern metal intrusions. The large red area to the south-east is a mound of grassed over building rubble, which will contain metal rubbish as well. Unfortunately, no obviously archaeological features are visible. Initial scanning with the magnetometer across the iron-working area on the higher ground to the south in preparation for full survey has revealed large amounts of what is presumed to be iron-working. This is shown on the image in orange.

Geoarchaeology

According to the BGS maps, the solid geology on site is Ashdown sands, capped with drift geology of Alluvium in the flood plain of the Brede and Clay Head as the land rises to the south. The locations for the two bore holes were chosen for their proximity to the archaeology to the south, in the hope of finding a layer containing some evidence of Roman occupation. The results are given below.

Borehole 1 (B1)

A) 0m - 0.05m. Topsoil.B) 0.05m - 0.4m. A mixture of orange and cream coloured clay, most like colluvium deposited from the clay head above.C) 0.4m – 0.5m. The same as B, except composed of just the cream coloured clay. This layer contained a single small piece of burnt clay.D) 0.5m – 0.6m. A black charcoal layer, unfortunately containing no finds.E) 0.6m – 1.0m A dark grey silt layer, containing small organic inclusions, such as wood.F) 1.0m – 1.8m+ A light grey silt layer, also containing organic inclusions. Mainly towards the top.

Borehole 2 (B2)

A) 0m – 0.2m. Topsoil.B) 20cm – 85cm. A mixture of orange and cream coloured clay. Visibly the same as layer B in borehole 1.C) 0.85m – 1.05m. Dark orange clay.D) 1.05m – 1.8m+. Light orange clay.

Discussion

Though the charcoal layer in B1 is not natural, it can't be proved to be Roman in origin, and whilst there is a possibility that the charcoal layer is due to the iron-working in Roman times, due to its depth, it most likely isn't. The burnt clay fragment in layer C of B1 was most likely deposited as colluvium from the archaeological deposits to the south. No other Roman finds were found in either borehole. B1 can be demonstrated to be in the alluvium of the floodplain, with further colluvial deposits on top once the floodplain had silted up and the water level had dropped. The water level in Roman times would have been 3 metres higher than it currently is, and the alluvium in B1 was most likely deposited after the Roman period. Evidence of a Roman port may exist below the 1.8 metres of the B1 borehole. There was no evidence of alluvium in B2, and contrary to the BGS maps, it seems that the clay head extends further to the south in this area. This is confirmed by looking at the stream to the south of the boreholes, with an orange tinge visible next to B2, and a grey/brown next to B1. No evidence of iron-working, such as iron slag, was found in the stream. This is not unexpected, as the stream is a relatively modern drainage cut, and would not have been present during Roman times. In conclusion, it is unlikely that any Roman deposits will be found during the watching brief accompanying the extension of the car park.