The Old Mill, the Cross Childswickham, Broadway
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The Old Mill, The Cross Childswickham, Broadway, Worcestershire Archaeological Evaluation for Mr M. Machnicki CA Project: CR0197 CA Report: CR0197_1 WSM71980 October 2019 The Old Mill, The Cross Childswickham, Broadway Worcestershire Archaeological Evaluation CA Project: CR0197 CA Report: CR0197_1 Document Control Grid Revision Date Author Checked by Status Reasons for Approved revision by A 23 October Alison Laurent Internal Clifford 2019 Roberts Coleman review Bateman B 25 October Alison Laurent External To address Clifford 2019 Roberts Coleman review comments from Bateman Aidan Smyth 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 © Cotswold Archaeology The Old Mill, The Cross, Childswickham, Broadway, Worcestershire: Archaeological Evaluation CONTENTS SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................... 2 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 3 2. ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND ................................................................ 3 3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ................................................................................... 4 4. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................... 4 5. RESULTS (FIGS 2-5) ......................................................................................... 5 6. THE FINDS ........................................................................................................ 6 7. THE BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE .......................................................................... 7 8. DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................... 9 9. CA PROJECT TEAM .......................................................................................... 10 10. REFERENCES ................................................................................................... 10 APPENDIX A: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS .................................................................... 13 APPENDIX B: THE FINDS .............................................................................................. 14 APPENDIX C: THE PALAEOENVIRONMENTAL EVIDENCE ......................................... 15 APPENDIX D: OASIS REPORT FORM .......................................................................... 16 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1: Site location plan (1:25,000) Fig. 2: Trench location plan showing archaeological features and geophysical survey results (1:150) Fig. 3: Trench 1: section and photograph Fig. 4: Trench 2: section and photograph Fig. 5: Trench 4: section and photograph 1 © Cotswold Archaeology The Old Mill, The Cross, Childswickham, Broadway, Worcestershire: Archaeological Evaluation SUMMARY Project Name: The Old Mill Location: The Cross, Childswickham, Broadway, Worcestershire NGR: 407459 238467 Type: Evaluation Date: 23-24 September 2019 Planning Reference: Wychavon District Council 19/00558/PA (pre-application) Location of Archive: To be deposited with Museums Worcestershire Site Code: OMTC19 An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in September 2019 at The Old Mill, The Cross, Childswickham, Broadway, Worcestershire. Four trenches were excavated. Two probable medieval drainage ditches and a probable pit of possible post-Roman (Anglo- Saxon) date were also identified. 2 © Cotswold Archaeology The Old Mill, The Cross, Childswickham, Broadway, Worcestershire: Archaeological Evaluation 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 In September Cotswold Archaeology (CA) carried out an archaeological evaluation for Mr M. Machnicki at The Old Mill, The Cross, Childswickham, Broadway, Worcestershire (centred at NGR: 407459 238467; Fig. 1). The evaluation was undertaken to support an application (pre-application Planning Application Ref. 19/00558/PA) that is to be made to Wychavon District Council (WDC) for residential development within the site. Aidan Smyth, archaeological advisor to WDC, requested a programme of archaeological works initially comprising a desk-based assessment, geophysical survey and an archaeological evaluation (trial trenching). The results of the latter are presented in this document. 1.2 The evaluation was carried out in accordance with a detailed Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI) produced by CA (2019) and approved by Aidan Smyth. The fieldwork also followed Standard and guidance: Archaeological field evaluation (CIfA 2014), and the Standards and Guidelines for Archaeological Projects in Worcestershire (WCC 2010). The site 1.3 The proposed development area is c. 330m² and comprises the garden of The Old Mill. The site is bounded by the existing garden/property boundaries to the east and west, by Badsey Brook to the north and the lane leading to St Mary’s Church to the south. The site lies at approximately 80m AOD and is generally flat. 1.4 The underlying bedrock geology of the area is mapped as Charmouth Mudstone Formation – mudstone of the Jurassic period. This is overlain by Head – Gravel, Sand, Silt and Clay of the Quaternary period (BGS 2019). The natural geological substrate identified during the course of the evaluation consisted of gravels. 2. ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 The site is located within a deserted medieval village (DMV) and to the north of a large scheduled semi-moated site (National Monument No. 31956). The moat arms have now been infilled but archaeological excavation and survey was undertaken prior to these works. The enclosed area was found to be c. 150m in length and 50m in width and the internal ditch was 8m in width and 1m in depth, it is therefore one of 3 © Cotswold Archaeology The Old Mill, The Cross, Childswickham, Broadway, Worcestershire: Archaeological Evaluation the largest moated sites in Worcestershire (HE 2019). The First Edition OS Map (1842) depicts the mill (now The Old Mill) to the west of the site. 2.2 The preceding ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey identified four areas of disturbed ground, scattered clusters of possible structures and two categories of anomalous ground layers (Sumo Geophysics Ltd 2019). None of these potential features were interpreted as being of definite archaeological origin (ibid 2019). 3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 3.1 The objectives of the evaluation were to provide information about the archaeological resource within the site, including its presence/absence, character, extent, date, integrity, state of preservation and quality, in accordance Standard and guidance: Archaeological field evaluation (CIfA 2014). This information will enable WDC to identify and assess the particular significance of any heritage asset, consider the impact of the proposed development upon it, and to avoid or minimise conflict between the heritage asset’s conservation and any aspect of the development proposal, in line with the National Planning Policy Framework (DCLG 2012). 4. METHODOLOGY 4.1 The fieldwork comprised the excavation of four trenches each measuring 5m in length and 1.6m in width, in the locations shown on the attached plan (Fig. 2). The location of Trench 3 had to be altered slightly during the course of the fieldwork, with the approval of Aidan Smyth, due to on-site constraints. The trenches were set out on OS National Grid (NGR) co-ordinates using Leica GPS and surveyed in accordance with CA Technical Manual 4 Survey Manual. 4.2 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. 4 © Cotswold Archaeology The Old Mill, The Cross, Childswickham, Broadway, Worcestershire: Archaeological Evaluation 4.3 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 and one bulk environmental sample was recovered and processed. All artefacts recovered were processed in accordance with Technical Manual 3 Treatment of Finds Immediately after Excavation. 4.4 The archive and artefacts from the evaluation are currently held by CA at their offices in Kemble. Subject to the agreement of the legal landowner, the artefacts will be deposited with Museums Worcestershire along with the site archive. A summary of information from this project, set out within Appendix D, will be entered onto the OASIS online database of archaeological projects in Britain. 5. RESULTS (FIGS 2-5) 5.1 This section provides an overview of the evaluation results; detailed summaries of the recorded contexts, finds, animal bone and palaeoenvironmental evidence are to be found in Appendices A, B and C respectively. 5.2 The natural geological substrate was identified in Trenches 2, 3 and 4 at depths of between 0.9m and 1.05m below present ground level (bpgl) and was overlain by orange silty clay alluvial deposits measuring between 0.3m and 0.7m in thickness. Archaeological features were observed