Data copyright © High Speed Two Ltd. unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under a The Open Government Licence (OGL).
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This collection comprises site data (digital photographs, spreadsheets, scanned test pit and context sheets, registers and drawings) from an archaeological trial pit evaluation undertaken by Archaeology Wales and Wardell Armstrong at Copthall North, Breakspear Road, Ruislip, in the London Borough of Hillingdon, centred on TQ 06610 87434. Test pitting took place between 25th March and 5th April 2019.
The evaluation forms part of Phase One of the High Speed 2 (HS2) rail project, which was granted Royal Assent in 2017 as the High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Act. Phase One runs 230 km from Euston Station in London to Curzon Street in Birmingham.
A total of A total of 23 trial pits were excavated. Of these trenches, 12 encountered archaeological features, consisting of a small number of isolated linears, pits, and tree boles. Only one of the 23 trial pits encountered any archaeological features. This was a shallow linear feature in Test Pit 08. The cut features encountered were all of a shallow depth, indicating that there has been some form of truncation across the slope, possibly due to the modern plantation. A small assemblage included pre-historic pottery while the majority is post medieval and modern in date. The highly abraded nature of both the CBM and pottery assemblages indicates they were residual, and at best provide a terminus post quem for activities on the site.
The site produced very limited archaeological evidence and no further work has been recommended. The site can be considered in relation to the main phases of evaluation at Copthall North (1S19CONTT Fields CNA and CNG and 1S19CHNTT Fields CNC and CND).
The physical archive is currently being stored by Archaeology Wales and will be deposited in a repository specified by HS2 in the future.