Town And City Underground Surveys

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by: teresataylor
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Word Count: 573
Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2012 Time: 10:49 AM

Before any kind of building development can commence in an area, it is first essential that a survey is undertaken of the ground below in order to ascertain what lies beneath. For instance, a survey may uncover ancient vaults or crypts that may lie nearby the area. But also from a practical point, a survey can tell you where the nearest water source is available underground.

A prospective developer will arrange for a survey of the area, prior to any digging, in order to gain that extra knowledge and discover exactly what is beneath the surface. These surveys fall under various different categories including, but not limited to, Geophysical and Topographic surveys. However on rural and urban sites and areas where there are historic buildings or churches, Archaeological surveys are also well known to be undertaken.

In respect of an urban survey (an investigation of an area that would take place within a town or a city), it is common for the evaluations to often require slightly different demands in order to ascertain the prospect of any archaeological presence. For instance, the depths of deposits are often much greater than they would be in comparison to a rural site for example (rural sites generally only require an inexpensive reconnaissance survey in order to ascertain the archaeological potential that is present). As well as the depths of the area, the stratigraphy of an urban survey is often much more complex and the conditions of the surface itself are significantly more complicated due to the general wear and tear that is caused by the daily comings and goings of busy town and city folk. Building foundations, industrial archaeology, town ditches and walls and former road surfaces are just a few of the more common targets that can be found in an urban survey.

An urban survey of a site will help to determine what, if any, archaeological articles are present in that particular area of the town or city. This information then permits the developer to consider their options; are they able to proceed with the building development or not? It can also provide archaeologists with an idea of whether or not that particular site could be of some importance to them in any ongoing studies they may have of the area.

Nowadays, in order to undertake an urban survey, the relatively new technology of Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) is used; this is more commonly known for being used in car navigation systems (or "Sat Nav" for short). Due to the complexity of this technology, a surveyor is consequently provided with very accurate results when performing a survey and it can provide immediate access to the exact plans, locations and sizes of buildings; this can be extremely useful when we are talking about an urban survey. In addition to this, the more recent use of GPS within this industry subsequently means that an urban survey can now be done in a more accurate, simpler and speedier way than it would have been done previously.

With urban surveys now being quicker and more accurate than ever, it is swiftly becoming common practice to use this method in order to find any potential important archaeological findings within a town or city. If not, then the urban survey has at least reassured the developer that they can go ahead with their plans to build that new tower block.

About the Author

SUMO Services Ltd are experts in all aspects of surveying and aim to provide the highest standard possible. SUMO can be at your site whenever you need them as they have 30 well equipped teams placed all over the country for easy access. If you are looking to undertake a Survey, contact SUMO today for further information and advice.

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