Introduction
We were invited to evaluate the geoarchaeology of a site at Selly Oak, Birmingham, 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 Mercia Mudstone and Sherwood Sandstone, and we found the soils to be typical stagnogley soils, these occur widely in lowlands in Pleistocene deposits, and can be sandy loamy or clayey. The site lies on a gently sloping gravel terrace, in an area of land that slopes gently towards the a brook to the north. At the time of our visit the site lay next to the former premises of the Birmingham Battery and Metal Company.
A long trench was dug from north to south from the edge of a brook up the side of a valley, and it was in this trench that we examined deposits visible in the side and took samples for later analysis.
Findings
The samples we examined were mainly sandy clays over sands and gravels and represented natural deposits with a modern topsoil rich in archaeological debris above them.
Conclusions
From our investigations we were able to tell the excavating archaeologists that the site at Selly Oak represented a shallow river valley with a sloping terrace formed from sands and gravels, much of which would have been deposited in a high energy environment. From the size of some of the cobbles seen this would have probably been during or immediately after the last glacial period. From the amount of reworking of these deposits and poor survival of evidence that we saw, we were also able to advise the client that no further study would be worthwhile.
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