Introduction
We were invited by the client to examine some pit fills, to help them understand their uses and whether they are connected to a tannery that was located at the Swan Hotel.
Background
The bedrock of the area was known to be Triassic Sherwood Sandstone, and we found the soils in the area to be similar to groundwater gley soils. The sandy nature of the soils allows for drainage and recharge by fluctuating groundwater in the vicinity of the site, which lies in a low wet area, in an urbanised part of Lichfield.
The samples we analysed consisted of 14 bags of pit deposits collected by the excavating archaeologists.
Findings
The samples came from deposits that were mostly natural parent materials or archaeological debris that had built up since the pits were used, and the pit deposits had been significantly altered since they were formed.
Conclusions
From our investigations, we were able to tell the excavating archaeologists that even though the mixed pit deposits may cause some concern over the reliability of information, if there was enough archaeological evidence to suggest that there was some relatively undisturbed samples together with some control samples with which to make comparisons, then further analysis may be worthwhile.