NHER 67513 (Monument record) - Middle Bronze Age enclosure and other, prehistoric, post-medieval and undated remains

February 2017. Desk-based Assessment.
Assessment of proposed development site.
The site was deemed to have a moderate potential to contain surviving remains of prehistoric to Roman date - primarily due to the nature of the discoveries made to the east during previous archaeological work.
Agricultural activity is likely to have been the only ground disturbance at the site from at least the mid 19th century onwards.
Nothing of particular interest were noted during a site visit.
See report (S1) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 27 July 2020.

December 2019. Geophysical Survey.
Magnetometer survey of proposed development site.
This survey revealed no obvious evidence for archaeologically-significant remains.
Although a number of weak anomalies were detected these were all thought to be of agricultural, natural or modern origin.
A broad band of magnetic disturbance running north-north-west to south-south-east through the central part of the site was caused by the presence of a large modern service.
See report (S2) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 27 July 2020.

May 2020. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site.
A total of 28 trenches were excavated, a number of which revealed potentially archaeologically-significant remains, the majority of which were interpreted as probable ditches. Most of these features produced little or no dating evidence, although the variety of alignments observed suggests that they were probably associated with at least two distinct phases of activity.
Evidence for at least limited prehistoric activity on the site included a small pit that produced a sherd of possible Bronze Age pottery and a flint scraper. Small quantities of worked flints (including two blades) were also recovered from several of the ditches, although this material could well have been residual.
The only ditch to produce reasonably convincing dating evidence was a north-east to south-west aligned feature in the south-east corner of the site that contained a small assemblage of pottery from a vessel initially recorded as likely Late Iron Age/Roman transitional but subsequently reidentified as Early Iron Age (see below). A similarly-aligned ditch and an adjacent, perpendicular feature in the western half of the site were both reasonably substantial features with dark fills and may therefore have represented the remains of an enclosure, although unfortunately finds were limited to a small number of worked flints. Ditches that potentially bounded a similarly-aligned enclosure were also uncovered in the north-east part of the site.
Other notable features that were potentially associated with an early phase of activity included an undated, somewhat irregular, penannular ring ditch in the north-east part of the site. This has been suggested as possible the remains of a round-house, although its small diameter (<6m) and the lack of finds probably make a domestic function unlikely.
There was no evidence for significant activity on the site in more recent times, with a single fragment of post-medieval/modern glass the only post-Roman find recovered.
Various north-to-south and east-to-west aligned ditches in the northern and eastern parts of the site were potentially broadly contemporary, although as none produced any finds their date remains uncertain. Other undated features of note included an isolated pit with a charcoal rich fill containing burnt flint and stone that was also associated with evidence for in situ burning.
Information from draft report, final version awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 27 July 2020.

November-December 2020. Excavation.
This final phase of archaeological mitigation saw further investigation of two groups of features revealed by the preceding trial trenching – the probable enclosure ditches in the western half of the site (Area 2) and the small ring-ditch and adjacent ditches in the north-east part of the site (Area 1).
The western excavation area (Area 2) confirmed that the north-east to south-west and north-west to south-east aligned ditches at this location were adjoining and therefore likely to represent part of a rectilinear enclosure, although neither could be traced far beyond their previously established extents. There was also no trace of the southern and eastern sides of this probable enclosure. Finds from the enclosure ditch were limited to three small sherds of Late Bronze Age pottery and a number of worked flints, and four samples taken from its fills were found to contain only small amounts of charcoal. A fragment of wood charcoal from one of these deposits did though produce a Middle Bronze Age radiocarbon date of 1503 to 1423 cal BC at 95.4% probability (SUERC‐96528; 3192 ± 24 BP). A number of discrete features were recorded within the interior of the enclosure, including a group of six post-holes likely to represent the remains of a small rectangular structure. Two burnt flints were the only finds from these post-holes and a sample from the fill of one yielded a single charred cereal grain. A total of nine additional pits were also recorded in this area, one of which produced a single Middle Bronze Age pottery sherd. A sample from the fill of another contained a single charred grain of free-threshing wheat.
The small ring-ditch targeted by the second excavation area (Area 1) was poorly preserved, both due to having been previously investigated and the poor conditions in which the excavation took place. It is thought that it was most likely associated with a hayrick of relatively recent date. Adjacent (but not quite adjoining) east-to-west and north-to-south aligned ditches were also uncovered in this area, one of which produced a fragment of 18th-century bottle glass. A north-north-east to south-south-west aligned ditches to the east of these features was found to contain a small, mixed assemblage of Late Bronze Age, Early Iron Age and Middle Iron Age pottery sherds, along with two flint flakes. All three ditches are thought to be post-medieval in date, as are a group of probable quarry pits uncovered in this area. Only a small number of pits and post-holes are regarded as being of uncertain date.
See report (S3) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 22 September 2024.