Birmingham & Warwicks Arch Soc Trans (115)

Observation of excavations for a water pipeline and associated works close to a known Bronze Age burnt mound revealed a palaeochannel, a late Neolithic pit and a Middle Iron Age pit. The Neolithic pit contained some Grooved Ware pottery; it is suggested that some of the decorative techniques present are rare examples within a Durrington Walls sub-style. The Iron Age pit contained heat-shattered stone, suggesting use for cooking although no food debris was recovered. A peaty deposit from the palaeochannel was assessed for environmental evidence.

Warwickshire forms one of four pilot areas selected for a detailed assessment of the research potential of 'grey literature' and the more general impact of commercial archaeology in the study of the Roman period. This account seeks to identify topics and themes where commercial archaeology has generated new data, as well as those areas where less progress has been made. It concludes that commercial archaeology has provided an uneven but invaluable sample, with most work on the Avon and Arrow valleys. By far the most new information relates to rural settlement, and shows non-villa settlements with roundhouse architecture to be the norm throughout the Roman period.

Excavation in advance of redevelopment at a site approximately 280m north of the Bull Ring in Birmingham recorded a sequence of deposits dating from the 17th to the 20th centuries. These included layers representing attempts to level the natural slope, into which one wood- and three clay-lined pits had been cut. Environmental remains recovered from the pits suggested they had been used for small-scale industry, perhaps related to the cloth industry undertaken on open waste ground peripheral to settlement.

The western half of a circular structure relating to the early 19th century Belmont Glassworks at Belmont Row, Eastside, Birmingham was excavated in advance of redevelopment. A previous excavation had recorded the eastern half of the structure. This article places the results of the excavations within the historical context of the 19th and 20th century development of the site. It concludes that the circular structure represents the remarkable survival of an early 19th century glass-working cone, whilst the later development of the site highlights the diversity of industrial and commercial enterprise within the city.

The excavation of a short-lived brick kiln of late 19th century date was the first, and so far the only, archaeological investigation of an important and extensive former brick-making industry in east Birmingham. The kiln was of the well-known 'Scotch' type. It was a rectangular open-ended brick-built structure, coal-fired through fireholes along both sides. Historic mapping shows that it was accompanied by another kiln and a possible drying shed.