| Abstract: |
Following to the submission of a planning application for a scheme of development works on land off Watery Lane, Lancaster, Lancashire Greenlane Archaeology was commissioned to carry out a desk-based assessment and walkover survey of the site, which was completed in June 2021. This revealed that while a range of sites of archaeological interest were known from the locality, within the boundary of the proposed development area they comprised a range of earthworks that formed part of an early agricultural field system of unknown date, and the site of a wireless receiving station first recorded on maps of the area in 1939. Subsequently, a scheme of archaeological evaluation was agreed with the Archaeology Service at Lancaster County Council aimed at further investigating these sites, as well as examining the open areas in between to identify whether any other archaeological remains were present. The evaluation therefore comprised the excavation of 13 trenches, and was undertaken in May 2023. Six of the trenches targeted the banks making up parts of the early field system, one targeted a ditch running from an extant pond, and one was situated on the centre of the site of the wireless receiving station. The remaining five were in open areas between. None of the trenches in the open areas revealed any features of archaeological interest. That across the ditch associated with the pond revealed that this was very shallow and not at any depth below the surface and so probably not very old, while those that targeted the earthwork banks in some cases found shallow ditches parallel to the bank while the banks themselves were typically made of very similar material to the underlying subsoil. In both cases little dating evidence was obtained but the ditches were not at any great depth below the overlying deposits and in some cases contained post-medieval finds. A range of features associated with the wireless receiving station were encountered, primarily the lines of services including electrical cables and other wires, but also possible structural elements in the form of a concrete foundation and a section of asphalt flooring. Two small pits were also revealed, which contained a mixture of 20th century items including glass, electrical fittings and wire, but also preserved timber, newspaper, and fragments of carboard packaging. Some slight evidence for prehistoric (Mesolithic/early Neolithic) and Roman activity was revealed in the form of individual finds, but these were very small in number. The evaluation revealed that the field system surviving as earthwork banks was largely of post-medieval date, although it could have earlier origins, and that it continued to be used and redefined well into the post-medieval period. It seems to have survived because the field reverted to pasture it the later post-medieval period rather than being ploughed. The ditch associated with the pond was also clearly of no great age. Features associated with the early 20th century wireless receiving station were more plentiful, but quite limited in scale. It is possible that further archaeological work or additional documentary research would further elucidate this enigmatic structure. |
