Introduction
We were invited to evaluate the geoarchaeology of a site at Corporation Road, Newport, to help the client, both in understanding the origins and developments of the deposits throughout the Holocene across the area of the site.
Background
The bedrock of the site was known to be Triassic Mercia Mudstone overlain by alluvial sediments and peats, no soils were found on the site due to previous development, but nearby soils are pelo-alluvial gley soils which develop within and over permeable material. The site lies within an urban area of Newport and is currently in use by a commercial premises.
Information was gained on the deposits by a combination of coring, geophysics and cone penetration testing (CPT), as the use of trenches was not suitable, due to the depth and instability of deposits which were still largely covered by the concrete foundations of buildings still in use.
Findings
Analysis of the results and cores showed us that the buried deposits almost all represented very wet conditions across the site throughout most of the Holocene. The only terrestrial deposits were peats found across the southern end of the site, which represented short-lived regressions during which the ground surface would have remained wet.
Conclusions
From our investigations, we were able to tell the client about the depth and location of deposits, and although locating unknown sites was not part of the brief, we found no evidence of human activity on the site, either in the components or properties of the deposits.