Grove Farm, Nottingham: modelling the alluvial sequence of the Middle Trent Valley

A proposed wind turbine development on the floodplain of the River Trent on the western outskirts of Nottingham required the construction of a deposit model prior to further archaeological evaluation and the development of an appropriate mitigation strategy. A series of 54 purposive boreholes was drilled and recorded with the aim of creating a deposit model that would guide future archaeological investigations. Another 6 boreholes and 22 test pits were subsequently excavated for geotechnical ground investigations, permitting refinement of the initial deposit model. These surveys permitted identification of several macro-stratigraphic units across the development area, allowing archaeological potential to be defined through geomorphological zonation of the site; landform elements included a palaeochannel, river terrace and alluvial floodplain, with the Holocene sequences extending from between c 0.4 and 7m below the modern ground level (BGL). A subsequent gradiometer survey refined the zonation of the site and allowed the identification of archaeological features cut into river terraces and the upper deposits of the deep Holocene alluvial sequence. No further archaeological works were conducted after the gradiometer survey which, together with the preceding ground investigations, provided sufficient evidence for the developer, consultant and archaeological curators to determine the potential archaeological impact of the proposed construction work and the likely scale of further evaluation and mitigation work. In this respect, the project provides a model for best practice in alluvial environments impacted by construction activity.