Archaeological Watching Brief for a Pipe Replacement, Swanley Hall, Cheshire (OASIS ID: oxfordar2-399171)
Karen Barker, 2020. https://doi.org/10.5284/1083481. How to cite using this DOI
Data copyright © Paul Dunn unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Primary contact
Karen
Barker
Oxford Archaeology North
Mill 3
Moor Lane Mills
Moor Lane
Lancaster
LA1 1QD
UK
Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 3788
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1083481
- How to cite using this DOI
Introduction
Oxford Archaeology (OA) North was commissioned by the British Pipeline Agency (BPA) to monitor works relating to the re-routing of a pipeline; the works comprised removing the current above-ground pipe and replacing it with one below ground (NGR: SJ 61769 52793). This involved a Watching Brief undertaken during the topsoil strip in two areas on either side of the Llangollen Canal.
A desk-based assessment (DBA), undertaken by OA North in 2015, highlighted the possibility of groundworks impacting upon potential archaeological assets surviving in the area. The proposed, but unproven, route of a Roman road between Middlewich and Whitchurch is believed to lie close to the north of the site, while several buildings relating to a mid-nineteenth century smallholding formerly lay on the western side of the canal. Following the submission of the DBA, a condition was imposed on the works by Cheshire Archaeological Planning Advisory Service. OA North were subsequently commissioned by BPA to produce a written scheme of investigation for the watching brief in 2018.
The watching brief fieldwork was undertaken over two days, 31st October and 6th November 2019. Two areas either side of the Llangollen Canal measuring 60m long by 20m wide, to the west of the canal, and 30m long by 20m wide, to the east of the canal, were stripped of topsoil. Disturbance from the initial construction of the pipeline and established hedgerows was prevalent in the working areas and no features or finds of archaeological significance were noted.
