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Somerset Historic Environment Record
| Site Name: | Excavation (1980) Sweet Track, Shapwick Heath | ||
| Civil Parish: | Shapwick | ||
| Part of: |
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| Grid Ref: | ST 4227 4040 (ST 44 SW) ST 4231 4048 (ST 44 SW) ST 4231 4050 (ST 44 SW) ST 4235 4056 (ST 44 SW) ST 4236 4058 (ST 44 SW) ST 4237 4061 (ST 44 SW) ST 4238 4064 (ST 44 SW) ST 4239 4066 (ST 44 SW) ST 4240 4068 (ST 44 SW) ST 4243 4075 (ST 44 SW) ST 4245 4081 (ST 44 SW) ST 4248 4087 (ST 44 SW) ST 4249 4089 (ST 44 SW) ST 4257 4106 (ST 44 SW) ST 4258 4108 (ST 44 SW) ST 4261 4114 (ST 44 SW) ST 4263 4119 (ST 44 SW) ST 4265 4121 (ST 44 SW) ST 4266 4124 (ST 44 SW) ST 4267 4126 (ST 44 SW) ST 4269 4132 (ST 44 SW) ST 4271 4135 (ST 44 SW) ST 4274 4141 (ST 44 SW) ST 4278 4148 (ST 44 SW) ST 4279 4151 (ST 44 SW) ST 4281 4156 (ST 44 SW) ST 4284 4164 (ST 44 SW) ST 4285 4165 (ST 44 SW) ST 4288 4170 (ST 44 SW) | ||
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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 08 March 2010]
Between May and September 1980 probing and small excavation of the Sweet Track took place across the presumed line of the trackway in order to establish its route. The excavation areas varied in size between 0.2-7.2m square; most were long and thin and were backfilled after. 28 sites were excavated in total: SWB (Burtle site), SWC (Cover site), SWD (Drove site), SWF (Factory site), SWGB, SWGZ, SWHC, SWHY, SWKG, SWKM, SWKR, SWKV, SWKZ, SWPM, SWQD, SWQS, SWQV, SWR (Railway site), SWSA, SWSD, SWSL, SWSY, SWTB, SWTF, SWTJ, SWTN, SWTW, SWVK, SWWD, SWWK, SWWP, SWWY, SWXB, SWXG. They were named SW for Sweet Track, then according to alphabetical order of field from B to X, and finally the southernmost site in the field labelled A and the northenmost labelled Z. Not all sites had fine preservation of wood. The timbers of the northern sites (SWWY, SWXB and SWXG) were lower than at other sites.
Aerial survey, resistivity and magnetometry was conducted on the trackway but failed to pick up the trackway. {1}
| 1 | Excavation report - Coles, JM and Orme, BJ. The Sweet Track 1980. Somerset Levels Papers. 7 (1981), 6-12 [page 8-12] |
| 2 | Mention - Coles, JM and Orme, BJ. Ten Excavations along the Sweet Track. Somerset Levels Papers. 10 (1984), 5-45 [page 5-6] |
| 3 | Mention - Coles, JM and Coles, BJ. Sweet Track to Glastonbury: The Somerset Levels in Prehistory. (1986), 42-43. |
| 4 | Mention - Brunning, R, Hogan, D, Jones, J, Jones, M, Maltby, E, Robinson, M and Straker, V. Saving the Sweet Track: The In Situ Preservation of a ... Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites. 4 (2000), 3-20 [page 4] |
Record created on 08 March 2010
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