& GEOPHYSICAL

Rural and
Greenfield sites

SUMO Geophysics specialises in using magnetometry and ground penetrating radar to locate a range of underground archaeological features on greenfield sites.

Greenfield developments often cover large site areas and require rapid, low-cost surveys to assess the archaeological potential before any construction work is undertaken. The typical targets found are:

Settlement sites and ditches
Field systems and enclosures
Buried pits, kilns and industrial sites

The techniques are used widely in association with a variety of development projects, including:

Housing developments
Wind and solar farms
Pipeline and cable corridors
Roads and highways
Railway schemes

INTERESTING FACT

Did you know that our lead Director of Archaeology, Dr John Gater, was the geophysical expert on Channel 4’s Time Team?

What are the benefits of a SUMO Geophysics Survey?

Fast data collection

At SUMO, we utilise a range of geophysics equipment that can be either walked across a site area, pushed using a cart system or towed using motorised vehicles. Having the ability to tow geophysics equipment across the site allows us to cover a more substantial site area in a significantly reduced time-scale. Thus, saving on not only time but overall survey costs associated with faster data collection.

High-quality data and reporting

SUMO is a Registered Organisation with the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA). All our surveys are carried out to the CIfA and the English Heritage professional guidelines as a minimum standard.

Rapid results

Our team of experienced field surveyors and data interpreters have a proven track record of working to tight deadlines, whilst maintaining the highest standards of geophysics surveying and reporting.

Above: Magnetometry data collected from a rural site. There are distinct areas of data which show the location of enclosures of an archaeological nature. As well l as this, ridge and furrow cultivation can be seen across the site area, suggesting historic ploughing.

Above : Ground penetrating radar data collected from Branodunum Roman fort. A clear number of geometric anomalies are present in the data, and indicate the location of historic building foundations associated with the Roman fort.

What deliverable can I expect from SUMO?

SUMO will provide you with georeferenced data images, fully interoperated drawings in AutoCAD or GIS format and a written technical report as a standard. Speak to a member of our Geophysics team if you have further questions related to your deliverable.