Forensic Archaeology by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030032913
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Case Study 1: Suffolk, St. Bartholomew’s Barn

In November 2011, a UK investigation focused on determining the origin and nature of fire spread in the mediaeval barn of St Bartholomew’s barn, Sudbury, was conducted as a part of a wider archaeological recording of the structure. It was hoped that this work might give some information related to the burning of the barn in January 2011. This investigation was conducted by the author at the behest of the county archaeologist’s requirements for the site to be investigated because of its archaeological significance prior to clearance and rebuilding. Prior fire investigation conducted by the local brigade had led to a conclusion of indeterminate point of origin or means of development.

Recording of fire characteristics visible on the internal wall faces and excavation through the debris lying within the structure revealed a number of directional and stratigraphic indicators that suggested a focus of low-temperature fire characteristics at a low height in the structure close to the eastern door that would be consistent with an origin point of the fire. Prior to the fire, St. Bartholomew’s Barn was built around an aisled structure, in which a post-and-plate structure of uprights and beams are held rigid with the use of timber cross braces. The exterior structure was then completed with horizontal straked planking to form the walls and thatch secured to battens for the roof. This structure stood on a brick-built dwarf wall , which contained an internal space finished with a concrete screed floor. It was noted that this central floor was stepped higher in the two aisles to the sides of the barn, than along its central nave.

Following the fire, the surviving structure was primarily represented by the brick dwarf walls outlining the bases of exterior walls and internal aisles. In addition, the concrete floor appeared to survive beneath the fire debris. Along the north-eastern wall, a few charred timber uprights remained standing in situ. Elsewhere in the structure, large fallen timbers were not in evidence within the structure. By contrast, the lines of char lying outside the building suggested the final deposition site of timbers falling outwards from the walls. Given the high ceiling clearance inside the barn and the full involvement of the structure, it is highly unlikely that the origin point of the fire would have occurred in the centre of the barn. Flame entrainment (the upward movement of flames) is enhanced by the presence of nearby walls and even more greatly in the case of fires started in the corners of buildings. As a consequence, it was decided an examination strategy that looked in detail at the walls which formed the aisled layout of the barn was most likely to reveal patterns related to the ignition of the fire (see Fig. 10.1).

Fig. 10.1Plan of St. Bartholomew’s Barn with the locations of numbered points of examination recorded. Letters and dashed lines relate to codes assigned to the respective aisles

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