Site Event/Activity record ECH4422 - Geophysical Survey of the Route of the Middlewich to Whitchurch (Margary route no. 700) between Rease Heath and Middlewich

A magnetic survey and resistance survey carried out at six separate locations between Rease Heath and Middlewich. The objective was to identify and trace the route of a Roman road and other associated features. Over the entire site the magnetic survey was not able to identify many anomalies that are of possible archaeological origin that can help in locating the suspected Roman road. However, the resistance survey has shown several areas of high resistance in these locations, despite some problems with high contact resistance giving some spurious data. It is possible that these areas may be caused by stone remains of the road’s foundations and surface. The reason that the magnetic survey did not show such anomalies is uncertain, but several possibilities exist. The road stone used may not have a significant magnetic response compared to the natural soils or any cut ditches may have been ploughed out over time. There also remains the possibility that the road does not exist within the survey areas and that the resistance anomalies have a different cause. Similarly, the survey over the square crop mark feature (Area 4) did not distinguish this feature, although high resistance and positive magnetic anomalies have been observed over its location.