| Title: |
An Archaeological Evaluation on Land off Shipston Road, Stratford Upon Avon, Warwickshire |
| Series: |
John Moore Heritage Services unpublished report series
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| Downloads: |
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johnmoor1-125315_1.pdf (3 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 site covers an area of 2.83ha, the agreement with Warwickshire Museum Services (WMS) was that a 4% sample should be carried out over the site with 21 x 30m trenches 1.8m wide being excavated. These were laid out by the archaeological consultants and were placed on a number of targeted anomalies and also in blank areas to provide a good spatial arrangement. The topsoil and any modern overburden
were to be removed by machinery and any other features to be excavated by hand.
Agreements were set on the specific percentage of features to be excavated, the removal of burials, and environmental sampling The field over time had been heavily ploughed, but it is still possible to identify specific periods of activity on the site. Two possibly three features once lay beneath a relic soil horizon; the date of these are unknown, a later prehistoric to Roman date is possible. Three lithic tools were recovered from plough soil and ditch fills, and one sherd from the relic soil horizon. The flake from the relic soil was not a tool but a flake from a core only. There is thus prehistoric to Roman activity in the area though poorly preserved.
The exact date of the earliest ploughing is not properly defined, however, the relic soil horizon has evidence of ridge and furrow cut into it and later post-medieval features.
It is for this reason that it is hypothesised that there was some pre-medieval activity on the site that initially disturbed the sand layers in which a worked lithic and Roman sherd were recovered.
There are a series of cuts that run in line with the medieval ridge and furrow and these have essentially been treated as the residue of agricultural processes. A number of the
furrows do not seem to have classic profiles, however, this may be a result of later post-medieval disturbance and manipulation.
The pottery finds from across the field were primarily of a post-medieval date, mid 16th to 19th centuries. The dating evidence is sparse. The remains may be part of general post-medieval activity in the area such as agriculture. A small farmstead or similar may have existed to the south with the ditches being part of a series of related paddocks thus explaining the lack of artefacts. However, the possible paddock ditches are on a different alignment to the ridge and furrow and, therefore, general layout of the pre-existing agricultural regime. These ditches or any feature that could represent them do not occur on any of the surviving estate maps of the 19th century, the tithe map or the Ordnance Survey held by Warwickshire Record Office. They are,
therefore, 18th century or earlier, but unlikely to be earlier than the 17th century due to the artefacts.
Documentary sources could suggest an alternative interpretation, as they mention parliamentary forces under Sir Thomas Fairfax encamping to the south of Stratfordupon-Avon at Clifford after the battle of Naseby in Northamptonshire in June 1645 where a superior parliamentary army of 13,000 men routed a royalist army of 3,000.
The exact location of the camp is historically unknown. The large ditches found in Trenches 18 and 16 are about 3m across and 0.8m deep, they are definitely places
where medieval ridge and furrow have been reworked with larger ditches excavated and have had their upper fills disturbed by later ploughing. Temporary camps are
renowned for producing few finds due to the lack of longevity in their use.
Little work is available on the military camps of the Civil War and it is difficult to gauge if this is because they are sparse in numbers or just because they are little researched or investigated. Most of the sites that are known are concerned with sieges; most notable amongst these cases are the camps located around Chester. |
| Author: |
P Riccoboni
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| Publisher: |
John Moore Heritage Services
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| Year of Publication: |
2011
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| Locations: |
| District: |
Stratford-on-Avon |
| Parish: |
Stratford-upon-Avon |
| Country: |
England |
| County: |
Warwickshire |
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Grid Reference: 420599, 253499 (Easting, Northing)
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| Subjects / Periods: |
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EVALUATION
(Event)
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LITHIC IMPLEMENT
(Object England)
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UNCERTAIN LITHIC IMPLEMENT
(Tag)
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SHERD
(Object England)
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ROMAN SHERD
(Tag)
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CLAY PIPE (SMOKING)
(Object England)
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POST MEDIEVAL CLAY PIPE (SMOKING)
(Tag)
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LAYER
(Monument Type England)
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IRON AGE LAYER
(Tag)
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DITCH
(Monument Type England)
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POST MEDIEVAL DITCH
(Tag)
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TILE
(Object England)
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POST MEDIEVAL TILE
(Tag)
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DITCH
(Monument Type England)
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IRON AGE DITCH
(Tag)
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IRON AGE
(Historic England Periods)
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ROMAN
(Historic England Periods)
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POST MEDIEVAL
(Historic England Periods)
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UNCERTAIN
(Historic England Periods)
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| Identifiers: |
| OASIS Id: |
johnmoor1-125315 |
| OBIB: |
2383 |
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| Source: |
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| Relations: |
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| Created Date: |
09 Jan 2023 |
