Woodland presents archaeologists with big problems. We know that many woods are ancient and that they cover areas of fascinating archaeology. But how do you work in an area covered by trees?
Nearly two hundred years ago the antiquarian Edmund Artis had identified what he thought were Roman buildings in Bedford Purlieus Wood, but he left no reports - so what was hidden beneath the trees? The Forestry Commission wanted to avoid damaging any archaeological remains during their re-planting operations, but I simply could not tell them where the archaeology was. Bedford Purlieus Wood is a great place for a Sunday afternoon walk, but fieldwalking, geophysical survey, aerial photography, excavation? Not a chance!
We decided to carry out archaeological walk-through surveys and these helped to identify some earthworks and building foundations, but huge areas were just too overgrown to see much.
Then a forest worker spotted a scatter of Roman tile during scrub clearance operations. A closer look at the area of this discovery revealed what appeared to be a large earthwork site among the trees. Could these really be Roman earthworks? We carried out a very small scale test pit evaluation the following winter, when the vegetation had died back enough to actually see the ground. Amazingly, the test pits revealed substantial stone foundations just below the surface, hinting at a very large and well preserved Roman building complex. I had no doubt that we were dealing with a very important site here. But what was it? A farmstead? A villa? An industrial site? A military site? How large was it? Frustratingly, there was no more funding and no time to go any further.
I visited the earthworks several times over the next two years and on more than one occasion I had real trouble finding them again. It is extraordinary how the vegetation and the character of the woods change over time and with the seasons. At times the site just seemed to melt back into the woods. Mapping all this was going to be challenging.
The Forestry Commission's LIDAR survey was a real breakthrough. This incredible new airborne technique penetrated the tree canopy and mapped the forest floor below. There it was: a complex of earthworks which seemed to reflect building ranges around a large square courtyard. But there was much more besides. There were other building foundations away from the main earthwork site - previously these had been entirely hidden from view.
This was exciting stuff, we finally had the evidence to show that Artis had been right - there was Roman archaeology under the trees. The prospect of exploring the Roman remains, tucked away in the woods, untouched by ploughing, was tantalising - so I got in touch with Time Team.
