Series: Foundations Archaeology unpublished report series

Machine excavated evaluation trenches The absence of archaeological features and the presence of only a single small sherd of 13th-14th century pottery suggests that the area of settlement in the Anglo-Saxon and medieval periods lay to the east of the church and did not extend into the study area. As a result the potential for surviving archaeology within the area of the proposed development may be considered low.

The archaeological works comprised the monitoring of groundworks associated with an extension to 1 Corinium Gate, Cirencester. No archaeological deposits or artefactual evidence was present within the watched area. However the groundworks did not penetrate below the garden soils/made ground to reveal any underlying deposits. Therefore this negative result cannot be taken as reflection of the sites archaeological potential.

One trench, 1.5m x 1.5m, was excavated by hand, within the footprint of a proposed extension. A wall, a linear feature, a pit and a series of layers dated to the Roman period were identified, overlain by post-medieval deposits. [Au(adp)]

Archaeological monitoring of the reduction of part of a front garden did not reveal any archaeological features.

On the 5th September 2014 Foundations Archaeology undertook a programme of archaeological monitoring during groundworks associated with the construction of an extension to 10 Hakeburn Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire. The archaeological monitoring comprised the reduction of an area (approximately 2.8m by 2.7m) to the southwest of the existing house and the excavation of a service trench along the northwest edge of the house. No layers, finds or deposits of Roman date were encountered within the watched area. The groundworks did not penetrate through the Modern/Post-medieval layers and it is possible that archaeologically significant deposits may survive at a greater depth. Therefore the negative result of this watching brief cannot be taken as a reflection of the archaeological potential for this site. No archaeological features were present within the monitored areas.

An archaeological watching brief comprised the monitoring of groundworks associated with the construction of an extension to an existing building, along with the creation of a parking area. No archaeological features, deposits or artefacts were present within the investigation area.

A total of twenty-nine trenches were excavated within the area of proposed development. This total comprised 11 trenches, equal to a 4% area sample, on the area of proposed housing development and 18 trenches, a 2% area sample, on the area of proposed sports training pitches. Trenches were located, where possible, in order to target features identified on the geophysical survey. All amendments to the WSI trench locations were agreed on site with the archaeological representative of Wiltshire Council. The trenches were excavated by use of a mechanical excavator, equipped with a toothless bucket, whilst under constant archaeological supervision. Archaeologically non-significant overburden was mechanically removed down to the top of the archaeologically significant horizon or the natural, whichever was encountered first. The evaluation has shown a clear distribution of archaeological features and associated finds across the southern half of the investigated area. Archaeological remains do not appear to extend far beyond the road dividing the southern and northern halves of the site. Archaeological features within the 18 trenches excavated in the northern half of the site were only present in Trenches 13, 14 and 15. The majority of the archaeology within the southern half of the site has largely been shown to exist within Trenches 3-10, which correlated well with the results of the geophysical survey. The archaeology encountered was largely as expected and appeared to represent Romano-British boundary ditches and enclosures with nearby domestic occupation, however, with the exception of a small quantity of CBM, no settlement evidence was present within the study area. This appeared to represent a continuation of the ‘farmstead’ remains excavated on the adjacent supermarket site by TVAS. The pottery recovered comprised a mixture of native wares typical of an Early Roman rural settlement which may date back into the later Iron Age and appeared to suggest that the site was abandoned by the early 2nd century. The archaeological evaluation has indicated that the site has a moderate/high potential for the presence of archaeologically significant remains. Based upon the results of the field evaluation, these are predominantly located within the southern end of the site.

Watching brief to observe the excavation of contaminated land. The monitoring works identified numerous late Post Medieval features including two highly truncated pits. A high level of modern disturbance had occurred across the site.

A total of fourteen trenches (9 x 30m, 1 x 25m, 4 x 15m), were as shown in Figure 2. Due to on-site constraints, the location of some of the trenches was amended slightly. No archaeological finds, features or deposits were present within any of the evaluated areas , there was also evidence for some modern truncation identified within and close to the location of the former dwelling, however, intact soil deposits were present across the majority of the study area. The evaluation, along with the previously undertaken Heritage Impact Assessment (2019), has demonstrated that archaeological activity is negligible for all periods within the study area.

The archaeological works consisted of a single hand dug test pit in the garden of 14 Estcote Road. The basal deposit, (108), present within the excavated area was the only layer that did not contain Post-medieval or Modern material, the datable artefactual evidence from this layer consisted of residual Roman pottery and Medieval Minety ware. Context (108) was present 1.08m (108.57m OD) below the Modern ground surface and most likely represented the top of the archaeological horizon. However, due to the depth of the excavation, layer (108) was only partially exposed during the evaluation and therefore its definition as a Medieval deposit is tentative.