Low Cost Geophys
Earlier this year Tom Glover and John Barker spent some time looking into the possibilities of receiving funding for the society, from either the national Lottery or the local Community Chest. The latter seemed more hopeful as the amounts we were looking for were not too large. For qualification, we needed to specify a project or equipment for which the money could be spent. The most promising item we could identify was a resistivity meter of the type used by Channel 4's Time Team. These meters are very useful to the archaeological prospector, as they enable him to 'see' below the surface, identifying any form of building activity or road construction. The society used one on our Roman Road project in the mid eighties prior to the successful excavations in 1987/88. That particular meter, on loan from Manchester University, was a 'Martin-Clark' type and quite difficult to use. Over the years, improvements have been made in the design of these meters, which even include automatic data logging for fast recording and also sophisticated software for precise interpretation. Prices for the equipment, however, turn out to be quite steep and possibly beyond the scope of the Community Chest (£2000+).
DIY Resistivity
However all is not lost, this September the Congress of Independent Archaeologist in Sheffield included a session on 'Do-it-yourself Geophysics', which included details of how to build your own resistivity meter. Tony Gist is the expert and, although he was unable to attend the session himself, has been able to distribute a lot of the necessary information through the CIA newsletter and a special web site. This site is completely dedicated to the subject and includes comments from users all over the country. As it happens, three years ago an electronics magazine published a project on how to build a meter, including details of the frame and necessary probe arrays. Using this information, it is possible to build a meter for less than £100, and some successful builders have been able to post their experiences onto Tony's web site. The question is, do we take the plunge and buy the components necessary to build our own meter? It is something for us to discuss at the next meeting.
Metal Detecting
Last month a small group from the society went out with metal detectors to investigate a field to the north of Wigan, on the Standish-Langtree boundary. Expectations were high, but the results were poor. The oldest thing we found was some sort of well-used agricultural or iron-working hammer-head, circa 1800/1900 (AD not BC). The day was enjoyable and better luck may be forthcoming from other sites John Barker has got lined up for us.
Blacking Mill
Alan Paton from Lanark and District Archaeological Society has replied to my E-mail I sent about the details of Arley Mill site. This is what Ken Fawell (their mill surveyor) had to say:
From the Clydesdale Mills Survey, which is still ongoing, we have identified one site at Cleghorn where there are the ruinous remains of a Blacking Mill. A neighbouring farmer said it was for making boot polish but that is nonsense. John Shaw's 'Water Power in Scotland' describes the use of a Blacking Mill, which was for the crushing of Charcoal to a fine powder, which was then used to dust moulds in the iron founding industry when it was at its heyday c1820. Carmichael Mill Foundry would use ground charcoal for that purpose.
It is interesting to note that the site of the Haigh Foundary, famous in the 18th and 19th centuries, is not that far away from our Blacking Mill site (i.e. the Arley Mill) down the Douglas valley.
Next Meeting
(Wednesday 1st December at the our new venue the BP Centre in Greenough Street at 7.30 pm as usual.) This month's speaker is our own Eddie Pennington, who will be giving us a talk on Pompeii. As usual, being the Christmas month, there will be extra refreshments supplied by Mandy Singleton and Tom Glover.
Hope to see you there - B.A.
P.S. This fell out of my works Christmas party cracker - 'What's the definition of an archaeologist? - A man whose career is in ruins.'