| Abstract: |
The fieldwork comprised the excavation of 156 trenches each measuring 30m in length and 1.9m in width. Trench 72 was relocated slightly to avoid a flooded area of land, Trench 122 moved from beneath the canopy of a tree and Trenches 121, 123, 129 and 130 moved due to overhead power lines. All trenches were excavated by mechanical excavator equipped with a toothless grading bucket. All machine excavation was undertaken under constant archaeological supervision to the top of the first significant archaeological horizon or the natural substrate, whichever was encountered first. Where archaeological deposits were encountered they were excavated by hand. An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in October and November 2016 on land north of Brimsham Park, Yate, South Gloucestershire. A total of 156 trenches was excavated. The evaluation identified a limited number of archaeological features which generally correlated well with preceding geophysical survey, aerial photographic survey and historic mapping. Archaeological features encountered comprised ditches dated to the Roman and post-medieval periods. Evidence for Roman activity was identified in Trenches 67 and 72. Pottery of 3rd to 4th-century AD date was recovered from the ditch fills of an agricultural field system. Evidence for post-medieval activity was identified in Trenches 73, 76, 79, 82, 137 and 156 and consisted of field enclosure ditches. Undated features, including ditches and pits, were identified in Trenches 31, 32, 51, 53, 69, 70, 73, 79, 113, 122, 128 and 153. Features including land drains relating to recent agricultural activity and modern quarry workings were also identified, and the evaluation enabled the extent of modern Celestine quarrying to be mapped with a reasonable degree of accuracy. |
