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Somerset Historic Environment Record

17305

Public access:

It is unlikely that there is anything to see unless this event took place on a site (see link above) where there may be details of access. Otherwise please assume that the site is on private land. [Information last updated on 20 December 2004]

Details:

In 1995 four exploratory trenches were dug at intervals along the length of the Sweet Track in the Nature Reserve and monitoring stations were set up. The work was undertaken as a monitoring exercise to assess the effectiveness of the hydrological management strategy in place and to determine the condition of the monument.

The 4 trenches were all c1m by 2m each located in a separate hydrolic block to assess the conditions. Trench 1 (SWQF) had dessication cracks and contained the remains of the Sweet and Post Tracks consisting of 2 roundwood stakes and 4 planks. Trench 2 (SWPU) had dessication cracks and revealed remains of the Post Track. Trench 3 (SWKP) had no dessication cracks and contained 3 stakes, 2 planks, and wood debris which indicates that manufacture of the track took place in situ. Trench 4 (SWGR) had no dessication cracks and revealed a complicated structure of 50 pieces. The rail was supported by a substructure consisting of 2 layers of planks resting on 3 roundwood poles at right angles to the track. This implies that the track crossed a particularly wet patch in this area. In general the remains were highly deteriorated but still provided a wealth of information, most were left in situ.

16 monitoring stations called A, B, C and D (4 in each 4 transects) were set up to observe the water level and quality. They revealed a generally level water level and that the water never fell below the track level. The current management system was seen to be effectively preventing the occurrence of aerobic conditions, which would be sure to result in rapid decay of the organic remains. Redox probes were used to determine the degree of rapid aerobic decay that may occur in different levels of the peat.

Samples were taken for palaeoenvironmental analysis and samples of wood were taken for microbial analysis. {1}

The trenches were designed to be small so to have as little disturbance as possible to the track. Trenches 1-3 were located in the Nature Reserve. Trench 4 was located in a meadow at the southern end of the Reserve. In Trench 1 smaller wood pieces were under the planks and roots were growing through the timbers. Trench 2 contained 1 plank and 2 small off cuts. The substructure in Trench 4 was in a better condition than the upper parts of the track. {2}

An English Heritage funded project was carried out to test the performance of the water management system that is being used to preserve the 500m stretch of this Neolithic trackway in Shapwick Heath National Nature Reserve. Four small trenches were excavated and samples of the timbers and the environmental remains were taken to determine their state of preservation. Subsequent analysis showed that although the wood was in a very poor state of preservation this decay had probably occurred in the Neolithic period and that the trackway was now in a stable condition due to the permanently high water table achieved by the active management system. {4}

References:

Record created on 20 December 2004

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