This collection comprises of report, images, spreadsheets, GIS, site records and harris matrix data from a trial trenching at Hunts Green Farm, Grim's Ditch, Buckinghamshire, 2020.

Project Summary

The trial trenching, consisting of 151 evaluation trenches, was undertaken to help clarify the location, extent, survival and significance of any heritage assets in the vicinity of the Site, the aims of the trial trenching were then to:

• Provide a record of the Site prior to any impact from the HS2 scheme
• Confirm the presence/absence, extent and depth of any surviving archaeological remains within the Site
• Determine the nature, date, condition, state of preservation including any preservation bias, complexity and significance of any archaeological remains
• Determine the likely range, quality and quantity of artefactual and environmental evidence present
• Suggest measures, if appropriate and feasible, for further archaeological investigation to mitigate identified significant impacts

The trial trenching also contributed to answering the following specific GWSI: Historic Environment Research and Delivery Strategy (HERDS) objectives:

• KC2: Explore the location of Palaeolithic deposits, reconstruct past environments and investigate the relationship between climate variation and phases of human activity.
• KC5: Identifying settlement location and developing models for settlement patterns of the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Early Bronze Age.
• KC6: Understanding the evidence for change in the environment and management of the landscape for the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic periods.
• KC13: What was the date of the establishment of Grim’s Ditch? What impact did it have on the landscape following its construction?
• KC15: Can we identify regional patterns in the form and location of Late Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements across the route, and are there associated differences in landscape organisation and enclosure?
• KC16: Investigate the degree of continuity that existed between Late Bronze Age and Iron Age communities in terms of population, mobility and subsistence strategies.
• KC18: Explore the evidence for increasing social complexity in the archaeological record in the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age and identify patterns of intraregional and regional variation.

Re-Use Value Statement

The Site has high potential to contribute to multiple HERDS objectives through further examination of the archaeological remains encountered during the evaluation as discussed in Section 9 above. At present there is only limited opportunity for the Site to contribute to objectives KC2, 5 and 6 due to the absence of features dated to the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic, although further work may reveal as yet unencountered remains. There is the clear potential for further and more detailed examination of Grim’s Ditch, with the data provided in this dataset suggesting its continuation past its ‘known’ upright remains and path.

In addition to the HERDS Objectives outlined the in the Project Plan, further work within the Site may also be able to contribute to the following objectives:

• KC21: Assess the evidence for regional and cultural distinctiveness along the length of the route in the Romano-British period, with particular regard to the different settlement types encountered along the route.
• KC23:Identify evidence for late Roman occupation and attempt to identify any continuity in settlement patterns between the end of the Romano-British period and the Early Medieval period.

Beyond the investigation of the Grim’s Ditch monument and planned trial trenching within ‘Field H’, it is uncertain what further work may be undertaken on the Site.