| Abstract: |
An archaeological watching brief was undertaken following the demolition of the former village institute hall, and its replacement with a new one. The proposed development site was within the immediate vicinity of a shrunken medieval village, and there were surviving earthworks relating to this village in the field adjoining the development. SMR number 6725, a substantial earthwork, in particular, would be affected by the development and, as this was also a SAM (SM32844/01), Scheduled Monument consent was required before any work could be carried out. The watching brief was undertaken in a series of phases corresponding to each area of the site exposed per day. However, in the event, few remains of particular archaeological significance were encountered. A relatively dense area of stone, post-medieval pottery and glass along the east edge of the site showed signs that the enclosure had probably been used quite recently as an allotment. A buried soil horizon was discovered below this, and across the whole site, which contained several sherds of medieval pottery and a glass bead. On the west side of the development area were the remains of what appeared to be a heavily eroded lynchet, which also contained medieval pottery. The central part of the site, within the footprint of the former institute, had previously been excavated into the natural subsoil, and this foundation trench had been refilled with a redeposited subsoil. A layer of redeposited boulder clay had also been lain around the foundations, sealing the earlier subsoils. The nature of the site, sloping to the east, meant that the subsoil had gradually moved down hill, in such a way that the deposits were much thicker along the east edge than the west. This made interpretation of deposits on the west side difficult, due to the lack of soil overlying the natural geology. Although no structural remains were discovered, the evidence for a buried medieval soil horizon having survived was strong, and would suggest that this area had been used perhaps for agriculture, or had been a waste area on the edge of the medieval village. [Au(abr)] |
