Land at Woolwell, Plymouth, Devon. Archaeological Evaluation (OASIS ID: cotswold2-316730)
Cotswold Archaeology, 2018. https://doi.org/10.5284/1047624. How to cite using this DOI
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- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1047624
- How to cite using this DOI
Introduction
In November 2017, Cotswold Archaeology carried out an archaeological evaluation of land at Woolwell, Plymouth, Devon. A total of 36 trenches was excavated within the survey area.
The evaluation recorded several archaeological features, mainly located in three concentrations in the northern half of the survey area; these concentrations apparently comprise localised areas of Roman and medieval activity. A small number of outlying and isolated ditches and pits were also recorded; these are typical of scattered remains associated with agricultural exploitation. A possible road or trackway was recorded in the northern part of the survey area, sealing an Early Neolithic posthole. This road is potentially Roman in date, although a later origin cannot be ruled out.
The evaluation also recorded ditches associated with a Roman bivallate oval enclosure and an adjacent square enclosure, both of which had been noted by a previous geophysical survey. A medieval sub-circular enclosure ditch was recorded, as was a further possible example in the near vicinity.
The evaluation recorded a number of undated isolated ditches and pits. Of these, some were clearly associated with the extant field system (and are therefore post-medieval or later in date), but the ditches in the north-western part of the survey area appeared to be on a different alignment to the extant system and may therefore be earlier in origin, potentially representing agricultural practices associated with the Roman and medieval activity recorded in that part of the survey area.
