St Abb's Head Geophysical Survey

Date 18 April 2011 - 19 April 2011

Event ID 959726

Category Recording

Type Earth Resistance Survey

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/959726

An earth resistance survey was carried out on Kirk Hill by the Edinburgh Archaeological Field Society (EAFS) on 18th and 19th April 2011 (Rhodes 2011). An area around the church, its rectangular enclosure and a nearby rectangular building were targeted.

EAFS used a TR/CIA meter to collect data at a probe separation of 0.5m with readings collected at a sample interval of 1m along transects spaced 1m apart over grids measuring 20m x 20m. They downloaded the data using a program called “Resistivity” and processed the data using the free software “Snuffler”. The quality of data collected was high and revealed the remains of the Kirk and its enclosure boundary as high resistance anomalies with the rectangular building also showing higher values. The layout of the Kirk was suggested to be more complex than first thought and some additional anomalies of possible archaeological interest were identified to the north of this building.

Report: RCAHMS, Scottish Borders Council and the National Trust for Scotland

Funder: EAFS; Hunter Archaeological and Historical Trust

Edinburgh Archaeological Field Survey, 2011