| Abstract: |
The evaluation fieldwork comprised the excavation of 21 trenches, each measuring 30m in length and 1.8m in width, in the locations shown on Figure 2. Due to its original location across a public right of way, it was necessary to relocate Trench 7 from that agreed in the WSI, with the approval of SCHEAS. The trenches were located to test geophysical anomalies of probable or possible archaeological origin. Trenches were set out on OS National Grid co-ordinates using Leica GPS. Overburden was stripped from the trenches by a mechanical excavator fitted with a toothless grading bucket. All machining was conducted under archaeological supervision to the top of the natural substrate, which was the level at which archaeological features were first encountered. Archaeological features/deposits were investigated, planned and recorded in accordance with CA Technical Manual 1: Fieldwork Recording Manual. Deposits were assessed for their palaeoenvironmental potential and samples were taken in accordance with CA Technical Manual 2: The Taking and Processing of Environmental and Other Samples from Archaeological Sites and four deposits were selected for environmental sampling. Artefacts were processed in accordance with CA Technical Manual 3: Treatment of Finds Immediately after Excavation. CA will make arrangements with Shropshire Museums, under accession number E.01147, for the deposition of the project archive and, subject to agreement with the legal landowner(s), the artefact collection. The archives (museum and digital) will be prepared and deposited in accordance with Standard and guidance for the creation, compilation, transfer and deposition of archaeological archives (CIfA 2014; updated October 2020). A summary of information from this project, as set out in Appendix D, will be entered onto the OASIS online database of archaeological projects in Britain. In June 2022, Cotswold Archaeology carried out an archaeological evaluation of land at Bubney Farm, Whitchurch, Shropshire. A total of 21 trenches were excavated. The evaluation identified a small number of archaeological features, including ditches, historic land drains, postholes and quarry pits within the site. A charcoal-rich stony deposit, possibly representing the ploughed out remains of a prehistoric burnt mound, was also identified in a trench excavated in the north-eastern part of the site. A number of localised natural hollows containing peat-like deposits were also identified in trenches excavated in the eastern part of the site. The majority of the ditches and land drains identified correlate closely with anomalies identified by a preceding geophysical survey and to former field boundaries depicted by historic mapping. |
