Rear of properties on Grazeley Road, Three Mile Cross, Berkshire
An Archaeological Watching Brief
for Linden Homes
by Kate Taylor
Thames Valley Archaeological
Services
Site Code GR98/4
Deleted: ¶ Formatted: Left, Indent: Left: 0 pt, First line: 0 pt
August 1998
Rear of properties on Grazeley Road, Three Mile Cross, Berkshire An Archaeological Watching Brief
by Kate Taylor
Report 98/4
Introduction
This report documents the results of an archaeological watching brief carried out at land to the rear of 44-70, Grazeley Road, Three Mile Cross, Berkshire (SU 713 676). The work was commissioned by Mr Andrew Webb of Linden Homes, Linden House, 34 Crowhurst Mead,
Godstone, Surrey RH9 8BF. Planning permission has been granted on appeal by Wokingham
District Council for the demolition of two existing houses (62 and 64) on Grazeley Road to allow access for the construction of new houses to the rear. The planning permission is subject to a condition requiring the implementation of a programme of archaeological investigation during groundworks. This is in accordance with the Department of the
Environment’s Policy and Planning Guidance Note, Archaeology and Planning (PPG 16,
1990). The field investigation was carried out to a specification approved by Mr R Bourn of
Babtie Group, archaeological advisors to the District Council. The fieldwork was undertaken by Kate Taylor and Alan Ford between 5th February and 23rd July 1998 and the site code is
GR98/4.
Location, Topography and Geology
The site is located to the south of Grazeley Road at the western side of the village of Three
Mile Cross approximately 0.8 km south of Junction 11 on the M4 (Figs 1 and 2). It is situated at a height of about 50 m above Ordnance Datum and slopes downwards to the north with a small stream flowing in this direction through the centre of the site. The land had been divided into narrow garden plots for the properties on Grazeley Road and several sheds,
fences and trees were cleared in advance of the construction work. The British Geological
Survey (BGS 1946) of the underlying drift geology shows the site to be located on London
Clay and this was confirmed by observation during the excavation of footing trenches.
Archaeological Background
The site lies close to the gravel terraces of the River Kennet and Foundry Brook which have produced much evidence of Prehistoric and Roman settlement (eg Moore and Jennings 1992).
This settlement has been seen to extend into adjacent areas (eg Howell and Ford 1994) and it was considered that similar activity may have occurred in the vicinity of this site.
Objectives and Methodology
The purpose of the watching brief was to excavate and record any archaeological deposits affected by the new construction work within the proposal area. This involved the examination of foundation trenches and service runs during and after excavation and inspection of spoil heaps for finds. The watching brief was ‘intermittent’ as per paragraph
3.2.7 of the Institute of Field Archaeologists Standards and Guidance for Archaeological
Watching Briefs.
Results
The site was visited on twelve occasions during the groundworks and observations were made at various stages of the works. The topsoil and a certain amount of the subsoil was stripped in advance of each set of footings being dug, leaving on average 0.15 m of the silty clay subsoil above the natural clay.
Due to the intermittent nature of the watching brief, 23 out of 40 house and garage footings were monitored (Fig 3). Some of the footings were observed during excavation and
others were seen after concrete had been poured as the maximum level of concrete was below the subsoil-natural interface. In most cases the footings were excavated to depths of over 2 m below the stripped surface. Several relatively modern ceramic drainage pipes were seen within the footings and some tree root disturbance was also noted. In addition, the area around plots 2 and 3 had been disturbed in recent times. The disturbed ground contained metal, wood, glass and building materials and was seen to a depth of 0.85 m below the ground surface in the inspected trenches. The disturbance had truncated the subsoil and therefore may have removed archaeological features had they existed in this area (Fig 3).
The only archaeological feature (1) observed during the watching brief was seen in opposing sections of the central trench for the garage between plots 29 and 30 (Fig 3). As it did not appear in the parallel trenches to either side it is assumed to be a pit rather than a linear feature. This pit was approximately 1.40 m wide and 0.63 m deep, with a bowl-shaped profile, although the eastern side was somewhat obscured by tree root disturbance (Fig 4). It was partially filled with a blue-grey clay, different to the yellow-red clay natural, with approximately 10% fragmented burnt flint concentrated at the base. Inspection of the surrounding area revealed a fairly high density of burnt flint in the subsoil (as much as 50% in patches) and a single sherd of Prehistoric, possibly Iron Age pottery was located on the machined surface adjacent to the feature. Although no direct dating evidence was recovered from the pit, the concentration of burnt flint both within and around the feature suggests a possible Prehistoric origin. Scatters of fragmented burnt flint were also noted in the subsoil around plots 13, 16 and 27/28 but no features or other finds were located.
The Finds
Pottery
A single sherd of Prehistoric, possibly Iron Age, pottery weighing less than 1gm was recovered from the machined surface of the subsoil (51) in the vicinity of feature 1. It is handmade with black interior surface and oxidised orange core and exterior surface and is tempered with iron ore fragments 1-3 mm.
Burnt flint
A moderate amount of burnt flint was observed both within the fill of the single feature (1) and in the subsoil at various locations across the site; this was not retained.
Conclusion
The observations made during the watching brief have shown that the groundworks for the new dwellings have not disturbed any significant archaeological deposits. A single undated pit was observed. The background scatter of burnt flint observed in the subsoil of several areas within the site and the recovery of a sherd of pottery which is possibly Iron Age in date, indicates that there may be Prehistoric or later activity in the vicinity. The fact that little recent disturbance appears to have occurred in the area would suggest that, if located, evidence of this activity may be well preserved.
References
BGS, 1946, British Geological Survey, 1:50000, Sheet 268, Drift Edition, Keyworth. Howell, I and Ford, S, 1994, Little Lea Farmhouse, Reading, Berkshire, Archaeological Evaluation, Thames Valley Archaeological Services report 94/42, Reading. Moore, J and Jennings, D, 1992, Reading Business Park: a Bronze Age landscape, Thames Valley Landscapes: the Kennet Valley 1, Oxford Archaeological Unit, Oxford. PPG 16, 1990, Archaeology and Planning, Department of the Environment Planning Policy Guidance Note 16, HMSO.
68000 SITE SITE
67000
66000
65000
64000
SU70000 71000 72000 73000 GR98/4 44-70 Grazeley Road, Three Mile Cross, Berkshire, 1998
Figure 1. Location of site within Three Mile Cross and Berkshire.
Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Pathfinder 1182 SU66/76 1:25000 Ordnance Survey Licence AL52324A0001 44-70 Grazeley Road, Three Mile Cross, Berkshire, 1998
oad ley R N 67700 Graze
3 3 A
67600
67500 Site boundary
67400
67300
SU70900 71000 71100 71200 71300 71400
0 500m Figure 2. Location of site. GR98/4 44-70 Grazeley Road, Three Mile Cross, Berkshire, 1998
ad y Ro zele N Gra
31
20
21
67600 1 19 30 22
1 18
23 29 17
16 24 2 27 25 4 3 28 15 5 26 6 7 existing building 8 9 natural bedrock not observed during watching brief
foundation monitored during watching brief 14 13 modern disturbance 12 11 10
SU71200 71250
0 50m Figure 3. Building plots monitored during watching brief. GR98/4 44-70 Grazeley Road, Three Mile Cross, Berkshire, 1998
N
Section 1
1
Section 1 SE NW
51
52
1
0 2m
Figure 4. Plan and section of pit 1. GR98/4