In this, the first part of two articles, we will look at the process of setting up and carrying out a ‘test pit dig’ and will follow on in the second article about finds and what stories those finds could tell us about the inhabitants at the Orchard.
If you are planning to get archaeologists to carry out test pits, you must first be reasonably sure that a particular area has something interesting to find. We thought it would be exciting to find the location of the three double cottages and anything else that might have got left behind in the Donkey Lane Community Orchard.
Our first point of call was to contact South Oxfordshire Archaeology Group (SOAG) and invite them to the Orchard to discuss the history of the site. Following the meeting it was agreed to carry out a series of test pit digs over the weekend of the 3rd and 4th December. Roelie Reed from SOAG would be the lead for the dig.
The weekend duly arrived bringing in extremely cold but dry weather. There was a good turnout from our members, SOAG and additional members of the public – enough people to set up 4 test pits at various pre planned potential cottage locations identified from 1881 and 1889 maps. Usually, a geophysical survey would take place before any dig to pinpoint specific areas of interest. Ideally the test pit would be located in an area not too close to trees or bushes due to root disturbance, however this is rather challenging in the Orchard.
It is known from the old maps that one of the cottage’s front door was close to the well. The Orchard well is still there but has not yet been found as the exact boundaries are not known. It was decided to have Test Pit 1 to the eastern side of the well and Test Pit 2 to the southern side. It was also known that one of the cottages was built along the footpath (east/west) and Test Pit 3 was located along that line.
After deciding on the location, SOAG assigned the specific site code of CO22 for the Orchard together with a test pit reference number for each test pit dug. This is crucially important to record the identification and location of the items found. The test pit reference goes on all recording sheets, bags and finds trays. The size of the test pit is usually 1 metre square and marked out with pegs and tape. The test pit could be larger depending on the size of what is being excavated. Soil is dug out using trowels in a measured 100mm (10cm) deep layer known as ‘spits. The first 10 cm layer is recorded as 000, the second, down to 20cm as 001, the third down to 30cm as 002, etc.
Each spit is described separately on the recording sheet with the following: soil, inclusions, contamination, finds, what it was dug with and distance from top of pit. Recording is a crucial part of excavating. All the soil from each layer was sieved to find any small finds that may otherwise be missed and recorded in exactly the layer they came from.
Any finds uncovered are put in trays labelled with the specific site code, test pit number and the layer they came from for example C022 TP01 000, which translated, means Donkey Lane Community Orchard, Test Pit 1, spit (or layer) 1. Separate trays are used for each layer. The digging of 10 cm deep layers continues until the pit reaches layers undisturbed by human activity. When the dig finishes and the items are recorded, the pit is backfilled.
After the dig any finds are taken away to be cleaned, identified, catalogued, photographed after which they will be returned to the owner.
Even though the weather was poor, the results of the weekend were encouraging. John Scarborough from SOAG plotted the borders of the Orchard, and where possible, the location of various trees. John overlaid the results on the 1881 and 1889 OS survey maps which showed that Test Pit 1 had missed the east house wall by a fraction, Test Pit 2 was right over an outhouse or shed and Test Pit 3 was over what is assumed the north wall of the cottage. This area will be further investigated in the autumn.
Some of the finds from the weekend included: pieces of pottery, flint flake, roof tile, brick pieces, animal bone, glass, small piece of Roman samian ware, charcoal, clay pipe stem. More on the finds will be detailed in the second article in this series.
Our thanks to Roelie Reed and other members of the South Oxfordshire Archaeology Group for their interest in The Donkey Lane Community Orchard project.
Linda Brawn – Orchard Story Group February 2023
Reference: South Oxfordshire Archaeological Group, Chinnor Community Orchard Project, Test Pit Guide
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