Doncasters Insource Building Blaenavon Torfaen County Borough
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DONCASTERS INSOURCE BUILDING BLAENAVON TORFAEN COUNTY BOROUGH ARCHAEOLOGICAL WATCHING BRIEF For COWLIN CONSTRUCTION LTD CA PROJECT: 2606 CA REPORT: 09054 MAY 2009 DONCASTERS INSOURCE BUILDING BLAENAVON TORFAEN COUNTY BOROUGH ARCHAEOLOGICAL WATCHING BRIEF CA PROJECT: 2606 CA REPORT: 09054 prepared by Jonathan Hart, Publications Officer date 7 May 2009 checked by Laurent Coleman, Project Manager date 18 May 2009 approved by Simon Cox, Head of Fieldwork signed date 18 May 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 Doncasters Insource Building, Blaenavon, Torfaen County Borough: Archaeological Watching Brief CONTENTS SUMMARY........................................................................................................................2 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 3 2. RESULTS ............................................................................................................ 5 3. DISCUSSION....................................................................................................... 6 4. CA PROJECT TEAM ........................................................................................... 6 5. REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 7 APPENDIX A: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS ..................................................................... 8 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1 Site location plan (1:25,000) Fig. 2 The site, showing location of groundworks (1:500) Fig. 3 The site, showing features in relation to 1888 Ordnance Survey map (1:1000) Fig. 4 The site, showing features in relation to 1901 Ordnance Survey map (1:1000) Fig. 5 The site, showing features in relation to 1920 Ordnance Survey map (1:1000) Fig. 6 The site, showing features in relation to 1961 Ordnance Survey map (1:1000) Fig. 7 Furnace structure 131 Fig. 8 Surfaces 205 Fig. 9 Flue 325 1 © Cotswold Archaeology Doncasters Insource Building, Blaenavon, Torfaen County Borough: Archaeological Watching Brief SUMMARY Project Name: Doncasters Insource Building Location: Blaenavon, Torfaen County Borough NGR: SO 2420 0880 Type: Watching Brief Date: 25 June-19 September 2008 Planning Reference: 07/P/00537 (E) Location of Archive: To be deposited with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW), Aberystwyth Site Code: BLA 08 An archaeological watching brief was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology during groundworks associated with the construction of a new industrial building at Doncasters Insource Building, Blaenavon, Torfaen County Borough. Walls, surfaces, flues and other industrial features were exposed during the watching brief. These features correspond closely to the cartographic evidence from the area of the site and relate to the historical development of the Blaenavon Forge Side Iron Works from construction by the Blaenavon Coal and Iron Company in 1838 to demolition and landscaping during the 1950s. 2 © Cotswold Archaeology Doncasters Insource Building, Blaenavon, Torfaen County Borough: Archaeological Watching Brief 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Between June and September 2008 Cotswold Archaeology (CA) carried out an archaeological watching brief for Cowlin Construction Ltd at the Doncasters Insource Building, Blaenavon, Torfaen County Borough (centred on NGR: SO 2420 0880; Fig. 1). The watching brief was undertaken to fulfil a condition (no. 20) attached to a planning consent for the construction of a new industrial building along with a car park, access road and landscaping (Planning ref: 07/P/00537 (E)). The objective of the watching brief was to record all archaeological remains exposed during the development. 1.2 The watching brief was carried out on the instruction of Jim Parry of The Curatorial Division, Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust (GGAT (Curatorial)), the archaeological advisor to Torfaen County Borough Council (TCBC), and with a subsequent detailed Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI) produced by CA (2008a) and approved by the TCBC acting on the advice of Neil Maylan (GGAT Curatorial). The fieldwork also followed the Standard and Guidance for an Archaeological Watching Brief issued by the Institute of Field Archaeologists (2001) and the Management of Research Projects in the Historic Environment (MORPHE): Project Manager’s Guide (EH 2006). The site 1.3 The proposed development encloses an area of approximately 3.5ha and lies adjacent to the existing Doncasters Casings plant (Fig. 1). The site is bounded to the north-east by the former route of the Brynmawr and Blaenavon Railway, to the south-east by the existing plant, to the south-west by woodland and to the north- west by existing access roads. The ground surface slopes downwards from north- east to south-west at an average height of 350m AOD. 1.4 The underlying solid geology of the area is mapped as Westphalian deposits of the Upper Carboniferous (Silesian) geological era (BGS 1990). The natural substrate was not exposed during the course of the watching brief. 3 © Cotswold Archaeology Doncasters Insource Building, Blaenavon, Torfaen County Borough: Archaeological Watching Brief Archaeological background 1.5 Archaeological interest in the site arises from its location within the former Blaenavon Forge Side Ironworks. The archaeological potential of the site has been investigated in an Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment (DBA) by Cotswold Archaeology (CA 2008b). The site lies within the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape World Heritage Site and within the Blaenavon Landscape of Outstanding Historic Interest in Wales. 1.6 The site was developed as part of the Blaenavon Forge Side Ironworks in the mid 19th century. Demolition of the ironworks in the 1950s is thought to have destroyed all of the above ground buildings and associated infrastructure with the exception of a standing wall of probable 1920s-1930s date which survives along the north- eastern site boundary. 1.7 A geotechnical survey (Terrafirma 2007) identified deep deposits of made ground across the site. These deposits comprised colliery waste and demolition material from the structures of the ironworks and probably resulted from the redevelopment of the site in the 1950s. This made ground occurs to depths of around 3.6m below ground level in the southern part of the site and over 6m within the northern part. Methodology 1.8 The fieldwork followed the methodology set out within the WSI (CA 2008a). An archaeologist was present during intrusive groundworks comprising:- • Trench 1a: the partial levelling of the ground slope for the new building and associated facilities; • Trench 1b: area of deep excavation for HIP (Hot Isostatic Pressing) areas and associated facilities • Trench 2: the realignment of an existing road • Trench 3: the excavation of strip footings for the new building 1.9 Within Trenches 1b, 2 and 3 the depth of the excavations made close inspection of the exposed features impossible, and most were recorded from the top of the trenches. Where archaeological deposits were encountered written, graphic and photographic records were compiled in accordance with CA Technical Manual 1: Fieldwork Recording Manual (2007). 4 © Cotswold Archaeology Doncasters Insource Building, Blaenavon, Torfaen County Borough: Archaeological Watching Brief 1.10 The archive is currently held by CA at their offices in Kemble and will be deposited with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW), Aberystwyth. 2. RESULTS (FIGS 2 AND 6-9) Trench 1 (Figs 2 and 7) 2.1 Partial levelling of the area of the building footprint was undertaken across Trench 1a (to a depth of up to c. 0.5m). Excavation exposed made ground across the trench as well as north-west/south-east orientated wall 223 in the south-western corner of the trench. 2.2 Trench 1b was excavated to a depth of 6m, the formation level for the HIP areas, within the north-eastern part of the building footprint. The earliest encountered deposits were make-up 143 and the remains of an overlying wall, 142 (not illustrated). These deposits were sealed by extensive dumps of ash and slag, 135. A series of brick and concrete foundation pads (107, 108, 109, 113, 132, 133, 138 and 139) had been constructed into this slag dump and these supported a concrete raft onto which two brick chambers, 112 and 128, had been built. These chambers adjoined brick-built furnace structures 125 and 131 respectively (Fig. 7). 2.3 Two north-west/south-east aligned brick walls (105 and 106) were located immediately to the immediate south-west of these structures. These features were sealed by dumps of ash and slag which were themselves sealed by extensive dumps of demolition material. Trench 2 (Figs 2, 8 and 9) 2.4 Within Trench 2 removal of the existing tarmac road surface and associated make- up deposits to a depth of up to 4m revealed a series of brick and concrete surfaces (205; Fig. 8) along with brick and concrete piers (208, 209, 212, 213), and the partial remains of a number of walls (207, 214, 215).