NHER 67895 (Monument record) - Potentially medieval pit and post-medieval layers

January 2021. Excavation.
Investigation of site of proposed new dwellings.
The single trench excavated revealed a large feature that was potentially a medieval rubbish pit. Samples taken from its fills produced charred plant macrofossil assemblages that were dominated by cereal grains, with hulled barley the most numerous. These grains along with small quantities of crop processing waste and arable weed seeds are likely to represent domestic waste. Charcoal fragments were also common and likely to represent fuel debris from domestic hearths. Waterlogged plant remains indicative of natural scrub and waste ground habitats were also noted. Two sherds of medieval pottery were recovered from this feature, along with a single sherd of late medieval and transitional ware pottery. The latter suggests a possible date for the feature, although several sherds from the same vessel were also recovered from an overlying made-ground deposit - indicating at least the upper portion of the pit had potentially been filled as part of a more widespread dumping of material. What appeared to be cessy material was also noted in both the fill of the pit and the overlying material. The made ground deposit also contained post-medieval pottery of mid-16th- to 18th-century date, a fragment of clay tobacco pipe and pieces of animal bone. This layer was overlain by a second made-ground deposit that contained finds of 19th/20th-century date.
See report (S1) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 16 January 2024.