17th March 2015
Met Geo Environmental has completed a GPR survey of one of the most important surviving examples of built heritage in Britain.
English Heritage called in our geophysics team to perform a non-intrusive investigation for voids beneath the floor of St Peter’s church in Barton-Upon-Humber, North Lincolnshire. A formative example of the Anglo-Saxon style, St Peter’s is the most intensively studied and recorded parish church in the country.
With over 2,800 burials dating from Anglo-Saxon to Victorian times, St Peter’s Church is both an archaeological and architectural treasure trove. It has produced the largest collection of human remains ever excavated in the UK providing a unique insight into the population of a small, relatively isolated, market town over 900 years.
The survey was required to identify the location of any subterranean voids and confirm the structural integrity of the floor ahead of commissioning restoration work to the internal roof structure and was carried out using a multi frequency GPR system.
This utilised high and low frequency antennas to provide high resolution data to a depth of two metres.
The GPR data provided excellent correlation with plans and images of past features found beneath the floor during historic excavations, and identified two areas requiring further investigation and consolidation prior to the works commencing.
