WHITE ROSE CCS FACILITY, DRAX, NORTH YORKSHIRE Report On
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DRX011 - 006 WHITE ROSE CCS FACILITY, DRAX, NORTH YORKSHIRE Report on Archaeological Evaluation Draft v2 Client: ERM on behalf of Capture Power Ltd DRX011 – 006 summary sheet Client: ERM on behalf of Capture Power Ltd National Grid Reference: SE 665 280 (site centre) Address: Drax Power Station, Selby, North Yorkshire Parishes: Long Drax Council North Yorkshire OASIS No headland1-216521 Project Manager Alistair Robertson Text Magnar Dalland, Emma Tetlow, Julie Franklin, Laura Bailey, Tim Holden Illustrations Rafael Maya-Torcelly, Julia Bastek-Michalska & Caroline Norrman Fieldwork Emma Tetlow, Magnar Dalland, Phil Karsgaard Schedule: Fieldwork June 2015 Report July 2015 Summary Headland Archaeology (UK) Ltd was commissioned by ERM, on behalf of Capture Power Ltd, to undertake an archaeological trial trench evaluation in connection with the proposed White Rose Carbon Capture and Storage (WRCCS) Facility on land adjacent to Drax Power Station, North Yorkshire (NGR: site centre SE 665 280). A total of 27 trenches were excavated to characterise the archaeological and palaeoenvironmental potential of the site. The most significant result was the discovery of an extensive area of probable Roman activity in the S half of field H, where ditch remains and associated pottery were recovered. In addition, the work further supported the likelihood of a medieval fish pond and moat associated with Drax Priory in Field J. Auger survey revealed a substantial deposit of organic-rich material and peat preserved within the confines of the former channel of the Carr Dike. This material has the potential to produce a significant palaeoenvironmental data-set to further enhance an understanding of the human and environmental activities across the site. Contents INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 4 ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................... 5 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................................... 6 METHODOLOGY................................................................................................................................................ 7 RESULTS ............................................................................................................................................................... 8 GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL AND PALAEOENVIRONMENTAL REPORT .............................................. 11 FINDS ASSESSMENT ....................................................................................................................................... 15 ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................................... 16 DISCUSSION ...................................................................................................................................................... 18 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................................... 19 Appendices Appendix 1: Site Registers Appendix 1.1: Trench Register Appendix 1.2: Context Register Appendix 1.3: Drawing Register Appendix 1.4: Photographic Register Appendix 1.5: Finds Register Appendix 1.6: Samples Register Appendix 2: Environmental Data Appendix 2.1: Auger Register Appendix 2.2: Retent & Flot tables Appendix 3: Finds Data INTRODUCTION Project background ERM, on behalf of Capture Power Ltd, commissioned Headland Archaeology (UK) Ltd to undertake an archaeological trial trench evaluation in connection with the proposed White Rose Carbon Capture and Storage (WRCCS) Facility on land adjacent to Drax Power Station, North Yorkshire (NGR: site centre SE 665 280). Drax Power Station is located on the floodplain, c.1.3 km from the S side of the River Ouse, and some 500 m S of the scheduled remains of Drax Augustinian Priory. The WRCCS Facility will be built on farmland between the existing Drax Power Station and the scheduled area. The project has been divided into two stages: A) an initial ‘site raising’ to enable the construction of an earthworks platform for the new facility to the N of the current power station; and B) the main construction phase The proposed boundaries and programmes of these two phases of work are different, and the archaeological evaluation and mitigation strategy was designed to cover both phases of work. The evaluation was carried out in accordance with a Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI) prepared by Headland Archaeology based on a Project Design prepared by Charles Le Quesne at ERM. The fieldwork took place from the 8 th to the 23 rd June 2015. Geology, topography and current land use The combined application areas (Illus 1) occupy a low-lying situation in the floodplain of the River Ouse, below 6m AOD. The underlying geology, as mapped by the British Geological Survey, comprises late Pleistocene clay deposits that are referred to as the ‘25 Foot Drift’. There are slight but significant variations in topography within the predominantly flat landscape. In particular, the remains of the scheduled Drax Priory occupy a slight rise immediately to the N of the area up to 7m aOD; and there is a pronounced dip (1.6 – 1.7m minimum aOD) immediately to the SE of the Carr Dike, an artificial drainage channel. The combined application areas have been divided into fields which have been labelled F-J on Illus 1 (following on from fields labelled during previous fieldwork). Field F is located immediately to the S of the scheduled area of Drax Priory. It is an arable field with a waist high crop of barley at the time of the evaluation. Field G is located between field F and New Road along the E side of the power station. A public footpath cuts across the field which comprises rough grassland. Fields H and I are arable fields with a waist high crop of barley located to the E of New Road and to the S of Pear Tree Avenue. Field J is also planted with barley. It is located on the W side of the scheduled area of Drax Priory. ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND Previous work Previous work by Northern Archaeological Associates (NAA) (1998) was carried out on behalf of National Power plc, to inform proposals for development in the vicinity. The NAA project was focused on the priory, with the aim of defining its extent and the character of the surviving remains. The work comprised analysis of historic maps and aerial photographs, topographic and earthwork survey, geophysical survey (gradiometer survey, with resistivity survey covering a smaller area), field walking of ploughed fields adjacent to the Scheduled Area, and excavation of two small trial trenches. NAA later produced a desk-based assessment (2006) which synthesised the results of the earlier fieldwork and added further detail from historical sources. The desk-based assessment prepared by Headland Archaeology (Breslin et al 2009) drew on both these earlier reports, with the addition of a palaeoenvironmental assessment. Several phases of field work were carried out by Headland in 2009 comprising geophysical survey (Harrison 2009), field-walking (Dalland & Franklin 2009) and trial-trench evaluations (Masser 2009a; Masser 2009b; Masser & Lancaster 2009). This work took place in Fields A to E to the E of the area for the current evaluation. A third geophysical survey was undertaken in 2012/13 covering the NE half of field F as well as Fields G, H, I and J. Roman activity Field walking carried out by NAA between the scheduled area and the lagoon to the NW retrieved 19 sherds of Roman pottery (NAA 1998, Figs 14 and 15), with a notable concentration roughly in the centre of the Field J. A trial trench was excavated by NAA in the vicinity of this concentration (NAA 1998, Fig 2), across a recently removed field boundary that is still visible as a slight hollow in the surface of the field (Illus 2). Eight sherds of Roman pottery were recovered from the ditch associated with this field boundary. The sequence of cuts and deposits within the ditch are ambiguous and it is not clear which can be assigned to the Roman period. In addition to the concentration in Field J, a single Roman sherd was retrieved from the N edge of field F. The three phases of trial trenching carried out previously by Headland found no evidence for the Roman activity identified by the NAA study, and no diagnostic finds of Roman date were found in the field walking covering Fields C and D carried out in 2009 (Dalland and Franklin 2009). Therefore, prior to the current fieldwork, the main evidence of Roman activity was focussed in Field J. Medieval and post-medieval activity The extent of features associated with the priory still remains unknown. While it is recognised that the activities of the priory would have extended out into the surrounding landscape, the boundary of the priory precincts were presumably clearly defined. Nineteenth century descriptions refer to a moat around the site which is shown on the 1907 Ordnance Survey map (NAA 1998, Figure 5). If the moat relates to the priory rather than the post-dissolution Drax Abbey Farm, and formed the boundary of its precincts, the remains of the priory are probably largely limited to the scheduled area. Field walking carried out by NAA (1998, 15-16, Figs 14 and 15) and Headland (Dalland and Franklin 2009) is also relevant to the question