| Abstract: |
Wardell Armstrong LLP (WA) was commissioned by the client Mr Les Stephenson and Mr Mark Gray, to undertake an archaeological watching brief at Tulip Mews, Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland, centred at National Grid Reference (NGR): NZ 1353 6694. The watching brief was required to satisfy a condition of Scheduled Monument Consent (SMC ref: S00213496) and a condition of planning consent (Planning App. No. 18/01897/FUL), following advice provided by Mike Collins, Inspector of Ancient Monuments: Hadrian’s Wall, at Historic England and Karen Derham, Assistant County Archaeologist at Northumberland County Council. The archaeological watching brief was undertaken between November 2018 and February 2020 and followed a previous programme of work undertaken in 2014. The current phase of works revealed the foundations of Hadrian’s Wall running across the site on an east-southeast to west-northwest alignment, in line with the extant remains of the Wall located to the east of the development area. The watching brief also revealed the southern edge of a large feature within the northeast corner of the site, believed to represent the remains of the Wall ditch located to the north of Hadrian’s Wall. The projected course of the Wall ditch was investigated further during an associated trial-trench evaluation within the Military Road immediately north of the development site. Although the presence of the ditch could not be confirmed within the limited confines of the evaluation trenches, the abrupt termination of the bedrock pavement within one of the trenches and its complete absence within the others was conspicuous against the solid sandstone pavement observed either side of the Military Road. Further remains revealed during the watching brief, included a stone-lined kiln and the remains of structures associated with the former haulage yard. Although the kiln was located between the Wall ditch and the projected line of Hadrian’s Wall, dating evidence retrieved from the feature has highlighted that this was a later addition at the site, constructed during the medieval period. |
