NHER 66826 (Monument record) - Prehistoric and undated pits

October 2020. Aerial Imagery Interpretation.
Examination of images taken by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) following deep ploughing to create habitat for stone curlews (work which inverted the ground to a depth of between 0.4m and 0.6m).
A number of potentially archaeologically-significant features were identified, the fills of which were clearly distinguishable from the redeposited geological material now covering much of the site. These included a north-north-east to south-south-west aligned linear feature in the north-west corner of the site, at TL 74828 89658. This was flanked my six possible pits. A large probable pit visible close to the southern edge of the site at TL 74905 89362 is likely to correspond with a former quarry pit marked on the Ordnance Survey First Edition Six-inch map (S1).
See report (S2) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 12 March 2023.

January 2021. Field Survey, Walkover Survey and Test Pitting.
Archaeological mitigation undertaken following soil inversion to create new habitat for stone curlews (Compartment 3). This work was focused on the area in which possible features had been identified on aerial images. Following an examination of these features (which included some limited test pitting) it was concluded that they were all most likely geological rather than archaeological in origin.
A dispersed cluster of disturbed probable pits was though identified close to the eastern edge of the field (Site 5; Context 2), one of which produced several sherds of undiagnostic prehistoric pottery. Other finds were limited to a small number of prehistoric worked flints and several burnt flints. The most notable of the worked flints was a presumably residual bifacial implement of possible Lower/Middle Palaeolithic date. Several other pits were also recorded elsewhere at this location, although none produced any convincing dating evidence.
Although an attempt at systematic fieldwalking was attempted the extent of the ground disturbance meant the finds were largely limited to the patches of material likely to represent the fills of disturbed features. One notable exception was an area of deeper soil in the south-west corner of the site which wasn’t obscured by redeposited geological material (Site 4; Context 1). Unstratified recovered finds recovered in this area and elsewhere included a number of burnt flints and a small assemblage of prehistoric worked flints comprising a Mesolithic/Early Neolithic blade and blade-like flake, a Neolithic flaked axehead,?Late Neolithic, Neolithic/Bronze Age and Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age flakes and a Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age retouched implement [3]. Metal-detecting recovered only modern artefacts (none of which were retained).
See report (S3) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 12 March 2023.