EDO5643 - Abbey Farm pond, Abbotsbury, de-silting; observations and recording

Observations and recording carried out during de-silting by means of a pair of tracked excavators working in tandem to excavate to the compact gravel substrate or an equivalent level, and loading the silt onto farm trailers on the north bank of the pond, from where it was removed to farms for use as manure. The work was observed continuously. The nature and archaeological potential of the silts exposed n the evaluation and subsequently removed were assessed by David Norcott of Wessex Archaeology Specialist Services, who concluded that the silts were of recent formation but that the natural soils remain undisturbed within and beneath the island.