Data from a Trial Trenching at Southern Sustainable Placement Area, Hillingdon, 2019 (HS2 Phase One)
High Speed Two Ltd., Wardell Armstrong Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, Archaeology Wales, 2024. https://doi.org/10.5284/1119349. How to cite using this DOI
Data copyright © High Speed Two Ltd. unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under a The Open Government Licence (OGL).
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High Speed Two Ltd.
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Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 4181
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1119349
- How to cite using this DOI
Introduction
This collection comprises site data (digital photographs, spreadsheets, specialist reports, scanned trench and context sheets, registers and drawings) from an archaeological evaluation conducted by Archaeology Wales and Wardell Armstrong, on behalf of Costain Skanska JV, at the Southern Sustainable Placement Areas, West Ruislip, in the London borough of Hillingdon. Work took place between 20th July and 1st October 2020 at SSP Areas A-F and between 20 August and 18th September at Areas G-H (SSP Areas G-H), centred on TQ 06566 86781 and TQ 06665 86390 respectively.
Project Summary
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.
The evaluation was designed to address the following Knowledge Creation objectives:
- Identify settlement location and developing models for settlement patterns for the Mesolithic, Neolithic, and early Bronze Age.
- Understanding the evidence for change in the environment and management of the landscape for the Mesolithic and early Neolithic Periods.
- Does the high density of prehistoric settlement evidence in the Colne Valley reflect a genuine focus of activity or does it reflect a bias in the archaeological record?
- 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?
- Investigate the degree of continuity that existed between late Bronze Age and Iron Age communities in terms of population, mobility, and subsistence strategies.
- Explore the evidence for increasing social complexity in the archaeological record in the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age and identify patterns of intra-regional and regional variation.
- Undertake research and investigation into medieval manorial complexes. What was their origin, development, and impact on the landscape?
- Investigate the impacts on rural communities of social and economic shocks in the mid C14th and thereafter and their contribution to settlement desertion.
- Identify patterns of change within medieval rural settlement from 11th to mid-14th century.
The specific aims and objectives were to:
- determine the presence or absence of buried archaeological remains within the proposed development site
- determine the character, date, extent and distribution of any archaeological deposits and their potential significance
- determine levels of disturbance to any archaeological deposits from plough damage or from any other agricultural/industrial practices or later building activities
- investigate and record all deposits and features of archaeological interest within the areas to be disturbed by the current development
- determine the likely impact on archaeological deposits from the proposed development
- disseminate the results of the fieldwork through an appropriate level of reporting.
Re-Use Value Statement
Areas A-F: It is possible that more information could be gained on the potential Late Bronze Age and Romano-British settlements with additional fieldwork. Further mitigation could also allow dates to be attributed to some of the undated features recorded across the site. A programme of detailed desk-based research, including any data from the national mapping programme, for the site could also be undertaken to shed more light on the form and size of both the Late Bronze Age and Romano-British settlements. It may also be possible to attribute dates for undated features through such a programme. It is not believed that any further work is needed on the archive or material assemblage from SSP Areas A-F.
Areas G-H: Further work is recommended to tighten the stratigraphic sequence of Trench SG03. This would potentially allow a number of the undated features to be assigned to a phase, providing a clearer picture of the activity within this area.
GIS data and the final reports have been uploaded to ADS directly by HS2. The physical archive is currently being stored by Archaeology Wales and will be deposited in a repository specified by HS2 in the future.
