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Project launch
Geophysics surveys
Geological survey Downley Common
Archaeology of Downley Common - photos
Downley School excavation
Bricks and brick-making
Events next in the programme
Art and archaeology on Downley Common
Poetry at Downley School
Maps and archaeology
The 'Big Dig'
Art workshop on Downley Common
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The 'Big Dig'
Location: Buckinghamshire
A series of trial trenches were put in across the central area of Downley Common.This area we call 'Area 1' but it is just north of the road and the cricket pitch, hidden by a canopy of trees.
This area was indicated as the potential site for a brick kiln as a note appears as 'brick kiln' on the 1767 West Wycombe Manor map, and due to several old buildings being still present in the locality it is easy to locate the plot on the ground.
If you are interested in the methods we used here are some documents which may be useful:
1. The initial training introductory sheet sent to those wanting to join in the Big Dig
2. A standard Finds Strategy
3. Health and Safety
Area 1 and 2 (central Downley Common) was also highlighted as having great potential as the site of buildings by two types of geophysics - resistivity and magnetometry. Both indicated features which could be interpreted as building structures, such as foundations with some rubble scatter (as you might expect if the building collapsed).
The County Archaeologist and Downley Common Preservation Society gave permission to put in several 2 m by 1 m trenches into the key areas to investigate which of the features on the geophysics may be a kiln or perhaps accessory buildings. We were also given permission to explore the mysterious deep hole in the adjacent area (we called this 'Area 2').
The dig went on over several days and was attended and visited by a good many people. Tents were set up as an equipment and coffee base camp. The weather was very kind to us - sunshine and not too hot. What a great atmosphere - we had such a wonderful team.
The trenches were dug very professionally - marking out 2 m x 1 m very carefully and cutting turfs which were set to one side, so that we could 'mend' the ground perfectly when we backfilled.
Initial material was taken away by spade and loosened by mattock ( some areas were exceptionally hard!). As we sensed we may be arriving onto archeology we used the trowels to excavate more carefully.
Each find was placed in the finds tray which had a clear label in it. Each layer within the trench was carefully recorded and given a unique context number. We had one person sorting through the spoil heap, just in case we missed anything!
The results surprised us all - the geophysics was entirely caused by 20th century dumping of building materials (Trench 1) or by natural deposits (all other trenches). The natural deposits had mimicked the resistivity signal that you would get with a structure like a building. The dumped 20th century builders waste, including large metal spikes and nails, mimicked the huge magnetic response you would get with a kiln. Such is archaeology!
However, although we did not find the kiln in Area 1 or 2 it is still a result. The result being that the kiln never lay in that part of the Common. This proved very useful in tracking down where the kiln definitely lay. This is because much of the Common can be proved to have had other uses over this long period of time (both before and since the 1700s). Thus, by a process of elimination we could locate where the kiln MUST have been:- It was not in area 1 or 2
- It could not be in the location of any of the surrounding pits which were dug for clay destined for the kiln
- It could not be on the sites of the contemporary (18th century) houses.
- It could not be on the tracks and footpaths that are on the maps of the 1600s and still exist today
Thus, the only location for this structure was.....wait for it.......under the road! We certainly did not have permission to dig the road up - so the kiln had to be laid to rest (under tarmac).
Nevertheless, this was a very exciting part of the project, and one which everyone had a huge amount of fun with. We still have a huge amount of the archaeology and history of Downley Common to work on - so we moved on immediately to start surveying (using resistivity) the south part of the Common (which has started to look very exciting indeed - see geophysics).
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