What Fieldwork and Research Methods Does BARG Use?

The Berkshire Archaeology Research Group (BARG) is a voluntary group investigating the archaeology of Berkshire, covering human activity from prehistoric times through to the post-medieval and modern periods. Its fieldwork and research methods are documented through named projects on its website, including hedgerow surveying, test pitting, enclosure investigation, and a long-running research project at Peasemore. The methods below are the ones the group publicly describes; anyone wanting to take part should check the Calendar pages for current meeting and visit dates.

Hedgerow Surveying

BARG runs a Berkshire Hedgerow Survey, with a dedicated "Hedgerow Surveying" page under its Projects section. Hedgerow surveying is a landscape-based method: rather than excavating, it records the living hedgerows that survive in the present-day countryside as evidence of past land management and enclosure.

For a volunteer, the practical work typically involves:

• Selecting a hedgerow to record, often using maps and existing survey guidance
• Walking the length of the hedge and noting its species composition
• Recording structural features such as gaps, layering, and the presence of standard trees
• Submitting the record so it can be compared with other hedgerows across the county

The value of this method is that it produces comparable data across many hedges, which can then be used to think about how the Berkshire landscape was divided and managed over time.

Test Pitting

Test pitting appears as its own project page. A test pit is a small, controlled excavation, usually about a metre square, dug in a grid or scattered pattern to sample what lies beneath the topsoil without opening a large trench.

The general sequence is:

1. Set out the pit to a standard size and record its location precisely.
2. Remove and bag finds by context — topsoil, subsoil, and any features — so that each object keeps its stratigraphic position.
3. Record the section and plan by drawing and photographing the pit before backfilling.
4. Process and report the finds, which is what turns a hole in the ground into usable archaeological evidence.

Test pitting is well suited to a voluntary group because it is low-cost, repeatable, and can be carried out in gardens, fields, or other accessible ground with permission.

Enclosure Investigation

"The Enclosure" is listed as a BARG project, and the group's wider project list also includes Roman Boxford and Spencer's Farm. Enclosure investigation deals with how land was enclosed and divided — a theme that connects directly to the hedgerow work, since hedgerows are often the physical remains of enclosure boundaries.

Work of this kind usually combines:

• Documentary research — maps, tithe records, and other written sources
• Field observation — tracing boundaries, banks, and ditches on the ground
• Comparison with other sites to place a single enclosure in a wider pattern

Research Aims and the Peasemore Project

BARG maintains a "Research Aims" page and a "Peasemore Research" project. These represent the group's longer-term, question-led strand of work, as distinct from individual survey or excavation tasks. A research aims statement matters because it sets out what the group is trying to find out, which in turn determines which methods are appropriate — for example, whether a question is best answered by surveying hedges, digging test pits, or working through documentary sources.

How the Methods Fit Together

The group also publishes detailed specialist studies, such as its multi-part report on Apollinaris stoneware bottles found at Barkham, which shows the same pattern of method — discovery, recording, source research, and statistical analysis — applied to a single assemblage.

Taking Part

BARG describes itself as welcoming anybody interested in archaeology, and it offers a programme of quarterly meetings and visits, plus lectures about Berkshire archaeology to societies, groups, and schools. The website states that details of how to join the group are provided on the site, and that meeting and visit dates appear on the Calendar pages. Because the site does not publish membership fees or access conditions in the material available here, check the Join Us and Calendar pages directly before planning to attend.