NHER 62770 (Monument record) - Early Neolithic hollow and potentially Roman ditch

January 2018. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of site of proposed agricultural reservoir.
The eleven trenches excavated revealed only two features of note; a probable tree-throw hollow containing prehistoric material and a ditch of possible Roman date.
The probable tree-throw was a large feature that produced several sherds of Early Neolithic pottery and an assemblage of 154 worked flints likely to have been of a similar date. The flint assemblage includes elements from all stages of the core reduction process, comprising a single core, primary, secondary and tertiary flakes, secondary and tertiary blades and other debitage. Tools were limited to a single serrated blade and two retouched flakes. It is suggested that this feature had probably been deliberately infilled with material derived from a midden or other occupation deposit associated with an episode of Early Neolithic activity.
Probable tree-throw hollows identified in another trenches was also investigated but found to contain no finds.
The ditch was aligned east-to-west and produced a single sherd of Roman pottery, suggesting it was possibly associated with the Roman settlement known to have existed nearby. This feature also produced a small number of presumably residual flint flakes of probably Mesolithic or Early Neolithic date.
Although samples were taken from both features these proved to be largely devoid of any preserved remains.
Unstratified finds were limited to four Roman coins, all of which date to the second half of the 4th century AD.
See report (S1) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 26 February 2018.