NHER 66499 (Monument record) - Roman ditch and other, post-medieval and undated remains

June 2021. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site.
The four trenches excavated revealed a number of features, the most notable of which was a north-east to south-west aligned ditch of probable Roman date in the south-east corner of the site. This produced single fragments of Roman pottery and tile and a large piece of probable iron smelting slag. A sample from the fill of this feature contained additional slag fragments, a single piece of flake hammerscale, charcoal and a small assemblage of charred plant macrofossils, including grain fragments, a single piece of cereal chaff and a bramble/raspberry seed.
Two east-to-west aligned ditches were also recorded, the northernmost of which produced post-medieval pottery and probably coincided with a similarly-aligned former field boundary depicted at this location on the Ordnance Survey First Edition Six-inch map (S1). Three post-holes in the vicinity of this ditch were probably of a similar date, with one being found to contain various fragments of post-medieval and late post-medieval/early post-medieval ceramic building material and a piece of 19th- or 20th-century bottle glass.
Other features noted included a large possible pond at the northern end of the site and a north-to-south aligned modern wall.
Information from draft report. Final version awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 23 November 2022.