Fieldwalking is a non-intrusive method of archaeological survey whereby artefacts are systematically recovered from the surface of a ploughed field and recorded, which can help to indicate what buried archaeological evidence might be hiding underneath the soil.
Fieldwalking in the Deben Valley - 2022
In August and September 2022 fieldwalking took place at Rendlesham, with volunteers from local primary schools and young people from Suffolk Family Carers, as part of the Rendlesham Revealed project. They found fragments of pottery dating to the prehistoric, Roman, Saxon and medieval periods, as well as a worked flint, mostly waste flakes and a few blades. As expected, a large amount of 16th-19th century material was recovered, suggesting intense manuring and cultivation presumably from the nearby farms.
Read the 2022 article on our blog »
Fieldwalking in the Deben Valley - 2021
Summer 2021 saw more fieldwalking take place as part of the Rendlesham Revealed project. The fieldwalking took place over 9 days near to an area of archaeological excavations, which aimed to investigate an Anglo-Saxon settlement.
Volunteers from the local community, Suffolk Family Carers, Suffolk Mind and the local Rendlesham and Eyke primary schools helped to complete the survey.
They found fragments of pottery dating to the Roman, Anglo-Saxon and medieval periods, post-medieval ceramic building material (brick and tile) and worked flint including a Bronze Age arrowhead.
Read the 2021 article on our blog »
Fieldwalking in the Deben Valley - 2019
In April 2019, the Year 5 students at Rendlesham Primary School were asked to help the Archaeological Service with their archaeological investigations by taking part in a fieldwalking training session, as part of the Rendlesham Revealed. Professor Tom Williamson from University of East Anglia led the training and taught the children how to fieldwalk.
They found a range of artefacts including post-medieval glazed pottery, a lot of ceramic building material (brick and tile), some fragments of slate and glass, and evidence of prehistoric worked flint.
Read the 2019 article on our blog »
Fieldwalking in Pictures
Use the arrows to scroll through the slideshow or view the whole album on flikr.com
