The Poulton Research Project

In 1946 the first geophysical survey was carried out in Dorchester England. Richard Atkinson used resistivity to investigate a henge site, and by 1953 resistivity prospecting had been accepted as a valid archaeological technique. In fact, the publication Field Archaeology (1953) dedicated a complete chapter to this new method of investigation. In 1949, the scientific investigation of archaeology came of age when Professor Willard F. Libby announced the development of carbon-14 dating. The impact of these two scientific developments forced us to change our methods of excavation and rewrite parts of our ancient chronology. In the second half of the last century, the application of material science techniques such as x-ray diffraction and elemental analysis, and biochemical investigations like DNA profiling, has formed the foundation of archaeological science or archaeometry.

In the past few years Archaeometry has become very topical. This is proven by the number of science-based archaeology programs on television, but behind this is a dedicated group of scientists from all over the world whose enthusiasm drives them to apply tried and tested methods of analysis to archaeological problems.

At CLRC's Daresbury Laboratory in Cheshire, the high intensity, wavelength tuneable x-rays of the national synchrotron light source are part of the latest analytical tools to be put in the service of archaeology. Recent research at Daresbury has applied SR (Synchrotron Radiation) techniques to ancient ceramics. A web-fronted database of x-ray diffraction patterns of clays, ancient ceramics, and mineral standards has been implemented (see figure), and mathematical techniques are being developed for fast pattern matching. The database is available on the World Wide Web and can accept data from all over the world.

The Poulton team has provided the laboratory with samples of ceramics that are in the process of being investigated. The discovery of worked flint gives the site a possible occupation time as long ago as 9000 years. This long history of occupation allows a potential for extensive scientific investigation. Geologically, the site is interesting due to its proximity to the river Dee flood plane and the underlying boulder clays. The clay would have provided a readily available resource for the production of ceramics and for earlier building materials. Glacial debris, such as granite, slate and limestone, would also have been useful as building materials. The most abundant building material, however, comes from the local Triassic sandstone. The site at Poulton is undeniably an exciting one, from the point of view of both the archaeo-scientist and the archaeologist alike.