NHER 69278 (Monument record) - Medieval pits and other, post-medieval or later and undated features

July 2023. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site.
The four trenches revealed a small number of features, all of which were of probable medieval or later date. Evidence for earlier activity was limited to two unstratified pottery sherds of possible Roman date and a single Late Saxon sherd found residual within a later feature.
Three medieval pits were identified in the southernmost part of the site, all three of which produced pottery of early to high medieval date, along with small amounts of fired clay and animal bone. Samples from their fills produced small assemblages of charred plant macrofossils comprising cereal grains (with free-threshing wheat, hulled barley, rye and oats identifiable), a small amount of cereal chaff, pea and bean seeds, weed seeds, rhizomes and a hazelnut shell.
Other features recorded included a smaller, undated pit and an undated north-east to south-west ditch crossing the central part of the site.
Two irregular features in the northernmost trench were found to contain a range of recent finds, including a late post-medieval/modern pottery sherd, post-medieval ceramic building material, a post-medieval glass bottle and a modern shotgun cartridge.
Other unstratified finds recovered included a small number of medieval, medieval/post-medieval and post-medieval pottery sherds; post-medieval pantile fragments; a piece of post-medieval clay tobacco pipe stem; a Roman to medieval lava quern fragment; a post-medieval buckle and several late post-medieval/modern iron objects.
See report (S1) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 12 August 2025.