THE CRUX
Finding a
Barrow, Barely
PERSONALEven with the latest tech, luck plays
a role in archaeological discovery.DETERMINING WHERE TO DIG is
the first step for archaeologists.
To find promising sites, today’s
researchers use advanced
technology, including satellite
imaging and ground-penetrating
radar, in addition to the
traditional method: walking
across a landscape looking for
any sign of artifacts.
But identifying the right spot
also takes a good bit of luck.
Just ask archaeologist Catherine
Frieman of the Australian
National University. For the
past six years, she has led a
project searching for prehistoric
sites between 1,500 and 4,
years old in Cornwall County
in southwest England. After
analyzing farmlands overlooking
the English Channel, her team
produced subterranean maps
based on subtle differences in
electromagnetism between
soils and any archaeological
remnants. They also reviewed
aerial photos for surface
features that suggest buried
mounds and ridges, which
may be barrows — ancient
monuments sometimes
containing burials.
Despite their systematic
efforts, Frieman and her
team nearly missed their best
discovery, a 4,000-year-old
Bronze Age barrow. They almost
skipped over the trove not once,
but twice during surveys in
summer 2017 and the following
April. Their success was thanks
to good fortune and a tip from
a local farmer, who had been
working the land for years.We were working and talking with the
farmer, who’s a real friend to the project.
He said, “While you’re out here, if you
have some time, I’ve got a barrow in
another eld.”
We said, “Dooooo you?”
“Yeah, there’s a barrow. There’s a ridge
in the eld,” he said. “You should go have
a look at it.”
We went with the geophysics team and
gured it couldn’t hurt to look. We put the
results through the software and, bing, it
popped up. The geophysics image showed
a very dark circular ditch about 16 meters
across with a bunch of dark splotches in the
middle. It was a Bronze Age barrow. It was
pretty obvious that’s what it was.
Nine months later, we went back and
opened up a big trench. We did our best to
position it, but because we were dealing with
some pretty awful weather, the GPS was
accurate only to about 60 centimeters.
At one edge of the trench, we found a bitof dark soil, which usually means you’re
onto an archaeological feature. We said,
“What’s going on here? Maybe we should
widen this out.” There were about four of us
having this conversation in the rain.
We ended up extending the trench about
a meter north and 80 centimeters east,
and — crack! — we suddenly hit a little
bit of pottery. It was the central feature
of the barrow: this beautiful collared
urn pot about half full with cremated
human remains.
It’s really exciting when you nd a barrow
with an intact central burial. That’s not all
that common in Cornwall. Only between 40
and 50 percent have human remains.
I can’t help but think: Wouldn’t that have
been frustrating if we’d just cleared off,
if we hadn’t widened the trench a little bit
farther and found the Bronze Age feature?
We’re going back next year to excavate
the settlement site nearby. We have a lot
of community support, which we really
appreciate. AS TOLD TO BRIDGET ALEX COURTESY OF CATHERINE FRIEMAN. INSET: AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY12 DISCOVERMAGAZINE.COM
IN HER OWN WORDS...