NHER 68274 (Monument record) - Saxo-Norman and medieval to post-medieval remains

October 2019. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site.
The five trenches excavated revealed a number of ditches and pits, the majority of which appear to have been associated with Saxo-Norman to post-medieval phases of activity. Several walls of probable post-medieval date and an undated well were also recorded.
The features identified as potentially Saxo-Norman include a single pit in the northernmost trench and a series of parallel east-north-east to west-south-west aligned ditches in the southern half of the site. The pottery recovered from these features is a mix of wheel-made Thetford-type wares and early medieval handmade wares – suggesting they most likely represent activity between the 11th and 12th centuries. A small assemblage of animal bone and a bone awl were also recovered from these features and samples taken from two of their fills were found to contain occasional cereal grains and small amounts of mammal, bird and fish bone.
Small quantities of high medieval pottery were recovered from several other ditches, with the largest assemblage coming from a north-north-west to south-south-east aligned feature at the northern edge of the site. A sample taken from this ditch produced a diverse assemblage of material that almost certainly represents waste from nearby domestic occupation, including abundant charred wheat and barley grains, abundant charcoal, numerous marine shells and fragments of animal, bird and fish bone.
Two adjacent pits in the north-east part of the site were probably of a later date, one producing a brick fragment of likely late medieval/early post-medieval date and the other a tile fragment of similar date. These pits were truncated by one of three east-to-west aligned sandstone and chalk wall uncovered by the same trench. These walls are thought to probably represent the remains of some form of post-medieval structure.
The probable well lay close to the northern edge of the site and was lined with roughhewn limestone blocks. Unfortunately it produced no finds and attempts at augering were hampered by stone rubble within its fill.
A number of other undated features were uncovered close to the northern edge of the site, including several pits and a relatively narrow east-to-west aligned linear feature.
Unstratified finds were limited to a single Roman pottery sherd, several additional Saxo-Norman and medieval sherds and fragments of animal bone. A single residual worked flint recovered from one of the sample has been tentatively identified as a possible Mesolithic microlith, but this has not been confirmed by a specialist.
Information from draft report. Final version awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 17 April 2024.

December 2019-November 2021. Watching Brief.
Maintained during groundworks associated with construction of several new residential dwellings and associated structures.
The monitored footing trenches appear to have been mostly too shallow to encounter the previously identified features and no additional features were recorded. Drainage trenches in the north-east part of the site did though reveal a pit of possible medieval date and a pit or ditch that contained a post-medieval iron horseshoe. A large soakaway trench dug to the west exposed a large feature containing a range of later finds, including medieval/post-medieval and post-medieval brick fragments and fragments of post-medieval pottery and bottle glass.
Information from draft report. Final version awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 17 April 2024.