| Abstract: |
Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by RPS Consulting Services, on behalf of Redrow Homes Ltd ('the client'), to mitigate an archaeological evaluation, located in Nupend Court Farm, Nupend Lane, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, GL10 3SR. The site lies approximately 8 km to the north west of Stroud, centred on NGR 379074 206706. An evaluation of nine trenches revealed predominantly medieval to post medieval agricultural activity, which was present in all the trenches in the form of ridge and furrow features. Additionally, three trenches contained other archaeological features and deposits of an unknown date. These results indicate a limited number of archaeological remains present across the site, with no apparent concentration of activity. Overall little of archaeological significance was uncovered during the course of the archaeological evaluation. The majority of the evidence comprised ridge and furrow features, and purports to the presence of medieval to post-medieval cultivation practices across Area A, as indicated by the artefactual evidence recovered.
A single post hole in Trench 2 and a pit within Trench 8, both undated, appear isolated and little can be inferred from them.
Ditches 304 and 306 within Trench 3 also have ambiguous origins, mainly due to a lack of dating evidence. Nevertheless, it was clear that the ditches pre-date the ridge and furrow cultivation, which are shown to cut the ditches in plan. Given the widespread evidence of cultivation across the development site as a whole, it is believed that the ditches are representative of previous field systems of indeterminate date. |
