Introduction
We were invited to evaluate the geoarchaeology of a site at Ripple, nr Tewkesbury, to help the excavating archaeologists, both in understanding the origins of the deposits and in assessing the archaeological potential of the site.
Background
The bedrock of the area was known to be Triassic mudstones overlain by alluvium, and we found the soils to be typical alluvial gley soils. The site lay on an area of flat land, on the flood plain to the east of the River Severn, at the time of the visit the site was in an area of farmland used for crops.
A number of trenches had been dug across the site, and it was in these that we were able to examine deposits and take samples for later analysis.
Findings
We found the site to be a complicated series of natural and archaeological features, some of which were superimposed one upon another, all of which lay above fluvioglacial deposits and mineral deposits laid down by the river. The deposits showed the effects of prolonged waterlogging, but not so much that some soil formation had not been able to take place. In some of the excavations, archaeological features were difficult to make out, yet they produced strong cropmarks.
Conclusions
From our investigations, we were able to tell the excavating archaeologists that the deposits on the site were mainly fine-grained alluvium, that had originated from the diverse geology of the River Severn catchment upstream, and had been deposited by floodwaters over a fluvioglacial surface. The deposits had been variously altered by human and natural processes under wet conditions, and the details of features had become blurred and difficult to see, however we felt that further geoarchaeological analysis would be worthwhile, as there is evidence in the deposits that would shed light on alluvial sources, deposition and post-depositional change.