Cemex Uk Materials (Western and South West Regions)
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
LAND AT PARK FARM BERKSWELL WARWICKSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF WORKING AREAS 3 AND 4 For CEMEX UK MATERIALS (WESTERN AND SOUTH WEST REGIONS) CA PROJECT: 2342 CA REPORT:09163 OCTOBER 2009 LAND AT PARK FARM BERKSWELL WARWICKSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF WORKING AREAS 3 AND 4 CA PROJECT: 2342 CA REPORT: 09163 prepared by Kelly Saunders, Project Officer date 12 October 2009 checked by Richard Young, Project Manager date 13 October 2009 approved by Simon Cox, Head of Fieldwork signed date 15 October 2009 issue 01 This report is confidential to the client. Cotswold Archaeology accepts no responsibility or liability to any third party to whom this report, or any part of it, is made known. Any such party relies upon this report entirely at their own risk. No part of this report may be reproduced by any means without permission. © Cotswold Archaeology Building 11, Kemble Enterprise Park, Kemble, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 6BQ Tel. 01285 771022 Fax. 01285 771033 E-mail: [email protected] © Cotswold Archaeology Land at Park Farm, Berkswell, Warwickshire: Archaeological Evaluation of Working Areas 3 and 4 CONTENTS SUMMARY........................................................................................................................ 2 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 3 2. RESULTS (FIGS 2-3) .......................................................................................... 5 3. DISCUSSION....................................................................................................... 6 4. CA PROJECT TEAM ........................................................................................... 6 5. REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 6 APPENDIX A: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS ..................................................................... 8 APPENDIX B: OASIS REPORT FORM............................................................................ 10 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1 Site location plan (1:25,000) Fig. 2 Trench location plan showing archaeological features (1:1000) Fig. 3 Sections (1:10) 1 © Cotswold Archaeology Land at Park Farm, Berkswell, Warwickshire: Archaeological Evaluation of Working Areas 3 and 4 SUMMARY Project Name: Land at Park Farm Location: Berkswell, Warwickshire NGR: SP 2285 8025 Type: Evaluation Date: 28 September 2009 Location of Archive: To be deposited with Coventry City Museum Site Code: PFB09 An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in September 2009 at the request of CEMEX UK Materials (Western and South West Regions) on land at Park Farm, Berkswell, Warwickshire. Seven trenches were excavated prior to the extraction of sand and gravels. The results are similar to those of previous evaluations carried out immediately to the east of the current site, with a very low density of features that comprise a single ditch and two postholes. The ditch is perpendicular to an extant field boundary and appears to be cut through the subsoil, suggesting a relatively modern date, however no dating material was recovered from this or the other features. 2 © Cotswold Archaeology Land at Park Farm, Berkswell, Warwickshire: Archaeological Evaluation of Working Areas 3 and 4 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 In September 2009 Cotswold Archaeology (CA) carried out an archaeological evaluation for CEMEX UK materials (Western and South West Regions) on land at Park Farm, Berkswell, Warwickshire. (centred on NGR: SP 2285 8025; Fig. 1). The evaluation was undertaken to fulfil a condition attached to planning consent for the extraction of sand and gravel, and is part of an ongoing programme of evaluation, earlier phases of which were carried out in 2007 and 2008. 1.2 The evaluation was carried out in agreement with Anna Stocks, the Planning Archaeologist for Warwickshire County Council (WCC), the archaeological advisor to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, the Local Planning Authority (LPA), and with a subsequent detailed Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI) produced by CA (2007b) and approved by Ms Stocks. The fieldwork also followed the Standard and Guidance for Archaeological Field Evaluation issued by the Institute for Archaeologists (2008), and the Management of Research Projects in the Historic Environment (MORPHE): Project Manager’s Guide (EH 2006). The site 1.3 The site is located approximately 2km north-west of Berkswell and comprises 26ha of agricultural land to the west of Park Farm (Fig. 1). It is bounded to the north and east by Berkswell Quarry, and to the south and west by agricultural land. The site lies at approximately 98m AOD. The area being evaluated prior to extraction lies to the northern edge of the site and comprises the north-eastern corner of a field. 1.4 The solid geology of the site is recorded as Triassic Bromsgrove Sandstone to the east and Pleistocene Glaciofluvial deposits of orange sands and gravels to the west (BGS 1996). Alluvial deposits are recorded within the southern half of the area proposed for extraction. A soil survey in 1999 identified gravels at a depth of 0.5- 0.8m, overlain by layers of loamy sand subsoil and ploughsoil (CAT 1999). Sand with flint gravel was exposed within all of the trenches during the current works. 3 © Cotswold Archaeology Land at Park Farm, Berkswell, Warwickshire: Archaeological Evaluation of Working Areas 3 and 4 Archaeological background 1.5 A Cultural Heritage Assessment of the site was prepared by Cotswold Archaeology (formerly Cotswold Archaeological Trust) in 1999 (CAT 1999) and the results of that report are summarised here. The stream forming the southern and western site boundaries is a former mill leat. A faint cropmark identified within the south-eastern portion of the site and visible on an aerial photograph appears to form an oval enclosure with possible internal features and is likely to be of prehistoric or Romano-British date. Both the leat and the cropmark lie outside the footprint of the proposed Park Farm Pond. The area around the site includes remains dating to medieval and later settlement and land use, including a former medieval moated site at Mercote Hall, and a disused post-medieval mill to the north. 1.6 A geophysical survey of the site identified a positive anomaly in the location of the cropmark feature (AS 2007). Further anomalies within the western half of the site were interpreted as indicating a pattern of former field boundaries. The remaining anomalies were consistent with relatively recent dumping. 1.7 The first phase of evaluation of the site was undertaken to the east of the current works and identified a series of field boundary ditches (CA 2007b). These ditches were all cut through the subsoil and although one contained two sherds of medieval pottery, these were abraded and thought to be residual. Given this, and the fact that the ditches cut the subsoil, they were interpreted as being post-medieval or later in date. Similar features were identified during a subsequent watching brief (CA 2007c). 1.8 The second phase of evaluation also identified a series of field boundary ditches (CA 2008), in this case sealed by the subsoil, one of which contained post medieval roof tile. Two undated pits and a number of tree throws were also identified. Archaeological objectives 1.9 The objectives of the evaluation were to establish the character, quality, date, significance and extent of any archaeological remains or deposits surviving within the site. This information will assist Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in making an informed judgement on the likely impact upon the archaeological resource by the proposed development. 4 © Cotswold Archaeology Land at Park Farm, Berkswell, Warwickshire: Archaeological Evaluation of Working Areas 3 and 4 Methodology 1.8 The fieldwork comprised the excavation of 7 trenches (Trenches 21 to 27) in the locations shown on the attached plan (Fig. 2). Six trenches measuring 50m and one 25m in length, all 1.8m wide, were excavated. 1.9 All trenches were excavated by mechanical excavator equipped with a toothless grading bucket. All machine excavation was undertaken under constant archaeological supervision to the top of the first significant archaeological horizon or the natural substrate, whichever was encountered first. Where archaeological deposits were encountered they were excavated by hand in accordance with CA Technical Manual 1: Fieldwork Recording Manual (2007). 1.10 Deposits were assessed for their palaeoenvironmental potential in accordance with CA Technical Manual 2: The Taking and Processing of Environmental and Other Samples from Archaeological Sites (2003) and no deposits were identified that required sampling. 1.11 The archive is currently held by CA at their offices in Kemble. Subject to the agreement of the legal landowner the site archive will be deposited with Coventry City Museum. A summary of information from this project, set out within Appendix B, will be entered onto the OASIS online database of archaeological projects in Britain. 2. RESULTS (FIGS 2-3) 2.1 This section provides an overview of the evaluation results; detailed summaries of the recorded contexts are to be found in Appendix A. Only three trenches, 23, 26 and 27, contained features, two postholes and a ditch. No dating evidence was recovered from these, and despite visual scanning of the topsoil, no material pre- dating the modern period was recovered. 2.2 Trench 27 contained a single linear