Archeological Investigations

Survey and Investigation Work

Prior to any disturbance of the ground to investigate archaeological remains, it was important to carry out appropriate survey work. On Garway Hill Common, the following types of survey were carried out in order to identify features of interest and locations for excavation :

1) A walkover survey across the Common in late April and early May 2006 with a hand held Global Positioning System (GPS) unit was used to record the location of features encountered. As the vegetation upon much of the Common consists predominantly of bracken with very little open grassland, this made some areas rather inaccessible. Survey coverage was therefore not complete. Nevertheless, the walk-over survey identified many features within the Common that served to illustrate the intensive use of the land resource through the prehistoric, medieval, post-medieval and modern periods, i.e. quarries, lynchets, earthworks, settlement features and hollow ways.

2) Topographic surveys were carried out in mid-May 2006 of the previously-known rectangular enclosure on the eastern side of the Common and of a smaller enclosure discovered during the walk-over survey near the southern edge of the Common and the area known as White Rocks.

3) A geophysical resistivity survey also took place in mid May 2006 within the larger enclosure to try to identify any subsurface features. This showed some useful anomalies, which were conjectured to be the foundations of dwellings and other features, and the results were subsequently used to determine the location of the trenches which were dug when proper excavation got under way in June 2006.

The locations of all features recorded on the initial survey and the results of the geophysical examinations are shown in the full report produced by Herefordshire Archaeology.

Download the Full Survey Report

Survey section (PDF 462k)

Copyright © 2007 Garway Hill Commoners Association