THE relocation of the War Memorial to the parish churchyard will depend on what discoveries a geographical survey of the proposed site reveals next month.
A small team of archaeologists will be using probes and ground radar to plot what monuments may be beneath the surface.
?It is a really historical bit of Tavistock right in the centre of town and no one knows what is there,? said town clerk Col Roger Howard.
?Everyone thinks they know but it has never been evaluated. We are assuming there may be bones there but it remains to know how deep.?
However if the survey reveals anything particularly fascinating it might ironically mean the relocaton of the war memorial to the site may not be possible after all. Part of the old Abbey Church remains could be waiting to be discovered just below the ground.
?If we do find old remains close to the surface that might preclude putting the war memorial there,? said Mr Howard.
?It may prove that there is an open area somewhere else that could be used. Then we would have to go back to the people that wanted the war memorial moved. We would have to say the original place cannot be used because of what is below the surface.?
But Mr Howard said if no suitable site could be found within the churchyard a ?line would have to be drawn? under the matter and they would have to ?call it a day?.
?There is nowhere else that is appropriate because this location is in the centre of town.?
He said historical things often only came to light as a result of other schemes ? such as when the remains of monks were discovered during SWWA work carried out in Bedford Square.
?There are lots of exciting things under Tavistock. The local history society will be watching the churchyard survey with fascination,? said Mr Howard.
The work is scheduled to take place, weather permitting, on April 14. The team of workers will put up a notice board which will explain to the public what they are doing.
Further work after this survey would probably involve a requirement to undertake small excavations. This would be a condition of any scheduled monument consent needed to prepare any foundations for the war memorial.
A consultation exercise in October 2001 revealed 80% of the people that responded in the PL19 area were in favour of moving the memorial from the Guildhall Square car park to the churchyard.
Tavistock Town Council has been working with Exeter Archaeology and English Heritage to see if the move could be allowed. In June 2002 a report was produced, which concluded that the ideal location might lie above remains of the old Abbey Church, which may be quite shallow at this point.