Museum of Liverpool Archaeology unpublished report series

The report describes the results of a programme of geophysical survey and trial trenching conducted at Dale View Quarry, Stanton in Peak Derbyshire. The site is situated at the northern end of Stanton Moor, a nationally important landscape containing remains dating to the Bronze Age. The project found that although the site contains limited archaeological deposits (to date this consists of a single charcoal filled pit of unknown date) a significant assemblage of prehistoric stone tools and pottery is contained in topsoil in the northern half of the site.

This short watching brief was undertaken during the manual excavation of inspection pits excavated for seven boreholes located along the line of the new Liverpool Canal Link which connects the Leeds Liverpool Canal with the South Docks on Liverpool's waterfront. The study area extended from the Pier Head Ferry Terminal to the GWR Building at Mann Island. The boreholes were drilled to test the ground for contamination in preparation for excavation of the new canal. No significant archaeological finds or deposits were encountered in any of the inspection pits.

This report describes the results of a programme of archaeological evaluation at the site of the former Cottam Hall Brickworks. The site is located to the west of Preston, on a possible route of a Roman Road between forts at Ribchester and Kirkham. The trench found no evidence for archaeological deposits.

The report describes the results of a watching brief conducted during construction of a new footbridge at the former Duke's Dock site on Liverpool's waterfront. Duke's Dock was constructed in the late 18th century as Liverpool's trade expanded and forms part of Liverpool's historic waterfront. The dock was heavily modified in the early 20th century and partly filled in during the late 20th century and extensive remains were not expected to survive. The dock walls are listed buildings. The watching brief found layers of sands and gravels probably deposited during the construction of Duke's Dock. On the south side of the dock a wall, probably the remains of brick warehouse buildings constructed in the 19th century, was also found.

The site lies in the south-eastern corner of Birkenhead Park in an area of level grassland. The project aimed to recover the remains of a Spitfire which was known to have crashed in the area during World War II. The plane crashed in Birkenhead Park on 14th October 1942 in the Lower Park, in an area known as the Night Pasture adjacent to Park Drive the internal 'carriage drive' within the park. The only written record of the crash obtained to date is the Ministry of Defence record card stating that the engine was not recovered from an approximate depth of 20-25 feet, however, there had also been a number of eye witnesses present at the time of impact (D. Darroch, 06/10/2007 pers. comm.), one of whom was present at the excavation. Metal detecting with UXB equipment had been carried out in December 2005 by a member of Warplane Wreck Investigation Group in an attempt to locate below surface ferrous remains with further investigations taking place using a magnetometer in 2007. Both geophysical investigations failed in their attempt to locate the crash site location. Prior to the commencement of the watching brief, metal detecting with UXB equipment was once again carried out by a member of WWIG with the hope of locating the remains more accurately. The engine and other parts of the fuselage were successfully located and excavated from Trench I. The remains consisted of a heavily fragmented and compacted deposit of aircraft parts, including the engine block, with no structural integrity suggesting that the aircraft crashed at a steep trajectory. No other archaeological deposits were present.

The report describes the results of an archaeological excavation conducted prior to the erection of two composting toilets north of the 'bunkhouse' and immediately east of the 'slate shed' on Hilbre Island, Wirral, Merseyside. The island, the largest of a group of three islands in the Dee estuary off the north-west coast of the Wirral peninsula, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). However, the island has no statutory protection for its archaeological remains although the island has produced not only a wealth of archaeological finds but also has recorded activity from the medieval period which make the whole of this small island an area of high archaeological potential. The wall foundations of what appears to be an open-air animal pen were uncovered, the position of which corresponded to that of a building shown on the 2nd edition Ordnance Survey map, 1898. A cluster of three buildings is shown opposite the 'bunkhouse'. The 'slate shed' and a smaller building to the north (not exposed during this excavation) are shown shaded, presumably indicating that they were covered whereas the third remains unshaded and was probably open to the elements. The wall foundations lay over Permo-Triassic sandstone bedrock which had been purposely 'punched' in order create a sloping floor surface. Two rock-cut features and a natural channel packed with red brick were also visible within this surface. There was evidence of an earlier wall foundation running north-south across the trench which had been robbed-out, the materials presumably re-used in the existing exposed foundations. The pen appeared to have been used as a dumping ground for rubbish dating from the 1970s onwards. The site had then been backfilled with a mix of loose topsoil, general refuse, and demolition debris which had been left to overgrow until the present day. The finds present on the site are characteristic of the casual dispersal of 19th century domestic refuse.

An archaeological excavation at Crow Lane East/Borron Road, Newton-le-Willows found remains relating to the eastern and western wings of Crow Hall consisting of cut features, the foundations of brick and sandstone walls and some in situ floor surfaces. There was little evidence for any occupation pre-dating the first direct mention of the site in 1534 and it appears likely that much of the structure date to no earlier than the mid to late 17th century and was probably built in a single phase. Some sections of the building were rebuilt in the 19th century and the replacement of internal floors destroyed much of the evidence for the original internal layout of the building.