| Title: |
Land off Briary Lane, Royston, Hertfordshire: Archaeological Evaluation |
| Series: |
Cotswold Archaeology unpublished report series
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| Downloads: |
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cotswold2-505550_187831.pdf (17 MB)
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Download
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| Licence Type: |
ADS Terms of Use and Access
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| DOI |
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| Publication Type: |
Report (in Series)
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| Abstract: |
The fieldwork comprised the excavation of 45 trenches, each measuring 30m long
by 2m wide. An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in
August 2018 at Land off Briary Lane, Royston. The site is located in an area
of potential for remains of prehistoric date, laying to the east of a
monumental ritual and funerary landscape on Thurfield Heath. A total of 45
trenches, each measuring 30m long by 2m wide, were excavated across
the 9ha site.
The evaluation identified limited evidence for past human activity within the
proposed development area, primarily comprising a small number of
shallow pits or tree-throws and gullies in the northwestern part of the site.
Colluvial deposits encountered towards the western edge of the site,
alongside Briary Lane, and in the southeast corner were found to be infilling
dry channels or natural undulations in the underlying chalk bedrock.
Pottery recovered from the base of the colluvium indicates a broad 16th to
18th century date for the accumulation of this material, suggesting that
mass movement of soils on the site took place as a result of relatively
recent cultivation practices. Infilling of these depressions/ channels in the
substrate may also have been to some extent deliberate, with the intention
to modify the natural slope and make the site easier to cultivate. Where
removed the colluvium did not mask any underlying archaeological features
and contained very little artefactual material.
Although a preceding geophysical survey and aerial mapping sources
indicated that the remains of ridge and furrow cultivation were likely to be
present in the form of the basal remains of furrows no convincing evidence
for these features was seen in any of the trenches. Evidence for modern
plough truncation was however noted across the development area and
presumably accounts for the almost total removal of these earlier features
and may explain the relatively ephemeral nature of the few surviving
features encountered.
Collectively, the results of the investigation suggest that activity within the
site predominantly dates to the post-medieval and modern periods, with no
surviving evidence for a continuation into the development area of the
monumental ritual/ funerary landscape known to the west, on Thurfield
Heath. |
| Author: |
A Moosbauer
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| Publisher: |
Cotswold Archaeology
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| Year of Publication: |
2018
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| Locations: |
| District: |
North Hertfordshire |
| Country: |
England |
| County: |
Hertfordshire |
| Parish: |
Royston |
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Grid Reference: 535380, 239960 (Easting, Northing)
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| Identifiers: |
| OASIS Id: |
cotswold2-505550 |
| Report id: |
18505 |
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| Note: |
This report was uploaded to the OASIS system by the named Publisher. The report has been transferred into the ADS Library for public access and to facilitate future research.
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| Source: |
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| Created Date: |
12 Oct 2022 |
