NHER 10842 (Monument record) - Multi-period remains

1968. Stray Find.
Found in south-east corner of site at [1] (Context 1) by mechanical digger at depth of about 2' to 2.5' [60cm to 75cm]:
Roman pottery and partly burnt clay, within hole filled with ash.
Information from record card (S1).
Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 6 June 2022.

December 2014. Geophysical Survey.
Magnetometer survey of proposed development site.
This survey identified no anomalies of definite archaeological significance.
The more notable responses included a pair of perpendicular, adjacent north-north-west to south-south-east and east-north-east to west-south-west aligned linear anomalies in the north-western corner of the site – tentatively interpreted as ditches associated with a small enclosure. A number of discrete anomalies of uncertain origin may also represent archaeological remains, including a cluster in the south-east corner of the site, close to where a possible Roman hearth was recorded in 1968 (see above).
It should be noted that part of the survey area was dominated by a strong north-to-south aligned linear anomaly associated with a gas pipe, which will have obscured any anomalies present in its vicinity.
Information from report uploaded to OASIS. HER copy awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 6 June 2022.

November 2016-January 2017. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site.
The eleven trenches excavated revealed a range of features including ditches, pits and post-holes. Although only a proportion of these remains could be dated it nevertheless appears that they represened at least five distinct phases of activity.
Several features and a soil layer produced handmade pottery of probable Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age date and were therefore potentially associated with activity during this period. These sherds were recovered from trenches that also revealed a range of poorly-dated pits, gullies and possible post-holes, at least some of which were probably of a similar age - particularly as many produced also prehistoric worked flints. Although some of the flints recovered during this work appear to be either Mesolithic/Neolithic or Neolithic, the bulk of the assemblage comprises hard-hammer struck pieces of later prehistoric date that are potentially contemporary with the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age pottery.
One of the more interesting features uncovered during this work was a sub-rectangular pit in the south-east corner of the site that was found to contain disarticulated human remains. The bones recovered (which include part of a skull) appear to be the incomplete remains of an adult male and returned a Roman radiocarbon date of 255 to 405 cal AD at 95% probability (Beta-459588; 1700 +/- 30 BP). It is possible that this was a truncated or otherwise disturbed inhumation burial although the amount of bone recovered still seems small, particularly as the feature was fully excavated. There was little other evidence for activity on the site during this period, with a single pottery sherd the only find of definite Roman date recovered (two tiles were also tentatively dated to this period).
Pottery recovered suggests that there was at least limited activity on the site during the Late Saxon and/or early post-conquest period. Features potentially of this date included two parallel ditches that may have flanked a track or droveway.
It does however appear that the main phase of activity occurred during the medieval period, between the 12th and 14th centuries AD. Features of this date included several ditches and pits, a notable number of which were concentrated in the south-eastern corner of the site. Although these features produced more pottery that those associated with earlier phases of activity the medieval assemblage was nevertheless still relatively small and few other finds were present (the one notable exception being a single fragment of iron slag).
A number of post-medieval features were also identified, including several probable strip quarries, and a possible floor surface of mortar and daub partially exposed at the eastern edge of the site.
The undated remains include many features that were probably associated with trees, representing either root disturbance or the hollows formed when they were uprooted. Although some of these features were potentially quite old many appeared to be much more recent.
See report (S2) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 6 June 2022.