NHER 69508 (Monument record) - Undated and post-medieval pits and ditches

May-June 2024. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks associated with construction of new building and conversion of former agricultural buildings.
The reduction of an area within the farmyard for the new building exposed areas of natural geology but no archaeologically-significant remains were identified. Large areas were though obscured by an intermittent layer of compact rubble containing 19th-century pottery and post-medieval brick fragments. This rubble layer was also observed in a service trench immediately to the south, where it sealed a layer of compact clay.
The various service trenches excavated revealed a number of features, including several ditches. The ditches included east-north-east to west-south-east and north-north-west to south-south-east aligned features exposed within one of the northernmost trenches, both of which continued under (and therefore clearly predated) the adjacent former barns. It is suggested that the former was potentially relatively early in date but post-medieval brick and tile fragments were recovered from the other, perpendicular ditch. A north-to-south aligned ditch to the east also probably predated the construction of the farm buildings, although this was also found to contain fragments of post-medieval brick and roof tile. Service trenches excavated around the margins of the farmyard exposed an undated east-to-west aligned ditch that continued under one of the buildings, a pit containing post-medieval brick fragments and an undated pit. A pit exposed in one of the northernmost trenches was obviously modern in date.
See report (S1) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 8 October 2025.