ABINGDON ARCHAEOLOGICAL GEOPHYSICS

COSTS

The method which is likely to give the best results will vary according to factors such as geology, type of site and soil and weather conditions.

It is therefore best that you contact us at an early stage so we can discuss your site and advise of the best methods to adopt. This is free of charge.

If it is decided that a survey using techniques which we have available is likely to be useful, we could carry out an initial appraisal of your site using our equipment to see if the results are worth having. This would be for only the travel costs and accommodation arrangements if an overnight stay is required.

If our apparatus is unlikely to be useful to you we will say so, rather than getting you to pay for a survey and then having to explain why the results were poor. We may be able to suggest other people who have other kit which could be more useful to you - such as ground penetrating radar if your site is covered with tarmac.

 The costs of a survey will depend on each site, as areas which are obstructed with fences and trees will take far longer to survey than flat areas with short grass and no obstructions. Similarly the cost of producing a good earth resistance survey is about double in urban/suburban areas as it takes far longer to obtain each reading if electric currents and leakage have to be filtered out during the data collection stage. Small sites miles away from our base will cost more per hectare than large ones near Abingdon.

The price will also vary according to other factors such as the archaeological interest of the project and the degree of flexibility there is concerning the timing of the work. Local Societies and individuals carrying out research may not be charged the same rate as developers who need a survey as part of their planning application but they will be expected to provide assistance on site.

Similarly some gas pipeline companies have been known to require their geophysics people to work in an inefficient manner with large amounts of travelling to survey small areas.  Geophysics people are now becoming aware of this and one can expect to see the prices for pipeline work for some of the clients being increased.

 As a guide however, for developer funded work required as part of the Panning application process on large flat unobstructed areas, the price would be in the region of (December 2006) :-

Per hectare magnetometery at 4  or 8 readings per metre along lines 1 metre apart……..£350

Per hectare resistivity at 1m sample separation……………£600

(A hectare is an area 100metres by 100 metres i.e. 10,000 sq metres)

These are subject to a minimum charge of £150 per 7 hour day as it would not be worthwhile to go to sites where there were access or other problems which should have been resolved at the outset, (see the Requirements section).

This assumes that 2 people are needed – a reduction can be arranged if you can supply one of them.

For example,assuming that it was carried out for a developer and was local to Abingdon on a clear open field with no other problems, the survey shown as the Sample Report would cost :-

3600sqm of magnetometery   @350 = £126

2700sqm of resistivity           @600 = £162

                                     total         £288

We do not currently charge VAT

If you require the report to be specially bound with all the presentational stuff which makes reports look better then this would take longer and be at an additional cost.

If you are a local Society and need funding for a project then the Local Heritage Initiative may be able to help. Try their website, which is of some help, although they have now been put into something called "Natural England" and we wait to see whether the new lot are any good or whether their funds have been taken to pay for the London Olympics.