| Abstract: |
The watching brief area (Area 3) was located within an agricultural field at the western edge of the wider development area, just south of Cold Harbour Lane, and covered an area of approximately 10, 220 m². The watching archaeologist monitored all mechanical excavations within the boundary of Area 3 down to the archaeological horizon or the natural geology, whichever was encountered first. Where necessary, the surfaces of uncovered archaeological deposits were cleaned by hand to aid visual definition. A sample of archaeological features and deposits was hand-excavated, sufficient to address the aims of the watching brief. Spoil from machine stripping and hand-excavated archaeological deposits was visually scanned for the purposes of finds retrieval. Artefacts were collected and bagged by context. All artefacts from excavated contexts were retained, and a representative sample of artefacts were retained from the topsoil and subsoil if they were of a modern date (19th century or later). All exposed archaeological deposits and features were recorded using Wessex Archaeology's pro forma recording system. A complete record of excavated features and deposits was made, including plans and sections drawn to appropriate scales (generally 1:20 or 1:50 for plans and 1:10 for sections) and tied to the Ordnance Survey (OS) National Grid. A Leica GNSS connected to Leica’s SmartNet service surveyed the location of archaeological features. All survey data is recorded in OS National Grid coordinates and heights above OD (Newlyn), as defined by OSTN15and OSGM15, with a three-dimensional accuracy of at least 50 mm. A full photographic record was made using digital cameras equipped with an image sensor of not less than 10 megapixels. Digital images have been subject to managed quality control and curation processes, which has embedded appropriate metadata within the image and will ensure long term accessibility of the image set. Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by GHC Archaeology and Heritage Ltd, on behalf of Persimmon Homes (Wessex) Ltd, to undertake an archaeological watching brief during groundworks associated with the construction of an attenuation pond (Area 3), at Cold Harbour Lane, Warminster, Wiltshire. The watching brief was carried out as a condition of planning permission, granted by Wiltshire County Council, and consisted of the monitoring of a machine excavation of an area covering 5, 442 m². No archaeological features or deposits were observed during the works. The underlying geology of the monitored area comprised West Melbury Marly Chalk Formation. The natural geology was overlain by a mid-grey silty clay to clay subsoil which measured around 0.16 m thick. This, in turn, was overlaid by a dark grey silty clay loam topsoil, measuring 0.18 m thick. Both topsoil and subsoil were observed across the entire footprint of Area 3. No archaeological features were encountered, indicating that the discrete features seen in the evaluations isolated features and not part of a larger cluster. Identifiable medieval finds comprise two sherds of coarseware pottery, one from topsoil and one from subsoil. Both fall within the known range of medieval ware types found in Warminster and the surrounding area, with a putative source at nearby Crockerton (named in documentary sources from the 13th century onwards. This ware type has a currency through the medieval period in Warminster. The six fragments of flat (peg) roof tile found in the subsoil are broadly dated as medieval/post-medieval; such tiles are difficult to date more closely. Other datable finds (remaining 24 sherds of pottery, clay pipe stems, vessel glass) are post-medieval/modern. The pottery wares indicate a date range from 17th century onwards. |
