Night Owl Truck Stop Watling Street, Lilbourne Northamptonshire
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Night Owl Truck Stop Watling Street, Lilbourne Northamptonshire Archaeological Evaluation for RPS acting on behalf of Eddie Stobart Logistics Ltd CA Project: 660590 CA Report: 15798 Site Code: OWL15 November 2015 Night Owl Truck Stop Watling Street, Lilbourne Northamptonshire Archaeological Evaluation CA Project: 660590 CA Report: 15798 Site Code: OWL15 Document Control Grid Version Date Author Checked by Status Reasons for Approved revision by Draft 25/11/15 JSJ SCC Internal SCC review Final 27-11-15 SCC Final Client review SCC 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 Night Owl Truck Stop, Watling Street, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Evaluation CONTENTS SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................... 2 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 3 2. ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND ................................................................ 4 3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ................................................................................... 5 4. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................... 5 5. EVALUTION RESULTS ..................................................................................... 6 6. THE FINDS ........................................................................................................ 9 7. THE BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE .......................................................................... 12 8. DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................... 14 9. CA PROJECT TEAM .......................................................................................... 16 10. REFERENCES ................................................................................................... 16 APPENDIX A: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS .................................................................... 19 APPENDIX B: THE FINDS .............................................................................................. 23 APPENDIX C: THE PALAEOENVIRONMENTAL EVIDENCE ......................................... 26 APPENDIX D: OASIS REPORT FORM .......................................................................... 28 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1 Site location plan (1:25,000) Fig. 2 Trench location plan showing archaeological features (1:750) Fig. 3 Trench 1: sections and photographs (1:20) Fig. 4 Trench 3: sections and photographs (1:20) Fig. 5 Trench 6: sections and photographs (1:20) 1 © Cotswold Archaeology Night Owl Truck Stop, Watling Street, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Evaluation SUMMARY Project Name: Night Owl Truck Stop, Watling Street, Lilbourne Location: Lilbourne, Northamptonshire NGR: SP 5513 7664 Type: Evaluation Date: 2-6 November 2015 Planning Reference: Daventry District Council DA/2010/1043 Location of Archive: To be deposited with NARC Site Code: OWL15 In November 2015, Cotswold Archaeology carried out an archaeological evaluation of land to the north of the Night Owl Truck Stop, Watling Street (A5), Northamptonshire. The evaluation, which was commissioned by RPS on behalf of Eddie Stobart Logistics Ltd, was undertaken to partially address a planning condition for the expansion of the truck-stop parking area. The evaluation demonstrated the presence of Romano-British activity in the western half of the development area, immediately adjacent to Watling Street. This includes late 1st–2nd century boundary ditches relating to the organisation of the landscape following the construction of Watling Street, followed by a 2nd–4th century enclosure, with internal features, containing evidence for domestic activity. 2 © Cotswold Archaeology Night Owl Truck Stop, Watling Street, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Evaluation 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 In November 2015, Cotswold Archaeology (CA) carried out an archaeological evaluation of land to the north of the Night Owl Truck Stop, Watling Street (A5), Northamptonshire (site centred on NGR: SP 5513 7664; Fig. 1). The evaluation, which was commissioned by RPS on behalf of Eddie Stobart Logistics Ltd, was undertaken to partially address a planning condition for the expansion of the truck- stop parking area (Daventry District Council (DDC) planning reference DA/2010/1043; Condition 1). Planning Condition 1 states: ‘No development shall take place until the applicant, or their agents or successors in title, has secured the implementation of a programme of archaeological work in accordance with a written scheme of investigation which has been submitted by the applicant and approved by the Planning Authority.’ 1.2 The scope of the archaeological works programme for the extension and refurbishment of the truck stop was determined following discussions between Rob Masefield of RPS and Liz Mordue, Northamptonshire County Council’s Assistant Archaeological Advisor (NCCAAA), archaeological advisor to Daventry District Council. The evaluation was carried out in accordance with a two-part brief issued by NCCAAA (2015a; 2015b) and a subsequent Written Scheme of Investigation prepared by CA (2015). It comprised the excavation of 350m of trial trench in a field which is to be incorporated into the northern end of the truck stop complex. 1.3 The project was carried out in accordance with the WSI ( ibid .) and abided by the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists’ Standard and Guidance for Archaeological Evaluation (CIfA 2014) and the Historic England (formerly English Heritage) procedural documents Management of Archaeological Projects 2 (EH1991) and Management of Research Projects in the Historic Environment (MoRPHE): Project Manager’s Guide (HE 2015). The fieldwork was monitored by NCCAAA, with a site visit being made on 4th November 2015. The site 1.4 The proposed development site, which covers an area of c. 1.6ha, is located beside the southbound carriageway of Watling Street (A5), approximately 1.5km to the south-west of Lilbourne and 5km east of Rugby town centre (Fig. 1). It comprises a 3 © Cotswold Archaeology Night Owl Truck Stop, Watling Street, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Evaluation pasture field bounded by Rugby Road to the north-west, Watling Street to the south- west, farmland to the north-east and the Night Owl Truck Stop to the south-east. Topographically, the site is situated on a south-east facing slope overlooking the head of the valley of Clifton Brook, a tributary of the River Avon. The ground slopes gently from approximately 112m above Ordnance Datum (aOD) at the north-west corner of the site, near Rugby Road, to 105m aOD at the south-east corner of the site. 1.5 The geology comprises Jurassic mudstone of the Charmouth Mudstone Formation. Immediately to the south of the site are Quaternary deposits of First and Second Terrace sands and gravels, which may extend into the southern part of the field (BGS 2015). 2. ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 The archaeological and historical background of the site has been presented in detail in the archaeological desk-based assessment prepared by Midland Archaeological Services (2010). This concluded that there are no designated or non-designated heritage assets within the site, although its proximity to Watling Street raised the possibility, borne out by the current evaluation, that features associated with the Roman road may be encountered within the site. Since the DBA was prepared, a number of Roman finds, predominately coins have been recovered from fields to the north of the site (NCCAAA 2015a). 2.2 There was considered to be a low potential for remains of other periods to be discovered, with the exception of modern features associated with the site’s use as a military training area, airfield and radio station in the first half of the 20th century; the latter was protected by a battery of Bofors anti-aircraft guns during WWII. 2.3 Land at the southern end of the truck stop was the subject of an archaeological investigation by Oxford Archaeology in 2012. No archaeological remains were encountered, other than the truncated remains of medieval or early post-medieval furrows (OA 2012). 4 © Cotswold Archaeology Night Owl Truck Stop, Watling Street, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Evaluation 3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 3.1 The objectives of the evaluation, as stated in the WSI (CA 2015), were to: • Establish the location, extent, nature, and date of any archaeological features or deposits that may be present; • Determine the integrity and state of preservation of any archaeological features or deposits that may be present. 3.2 In accordance with the Standard and Guidance for Archaeological Field Evaluation (CIfA 2014), the evaluation was designed to be minimally intrusive and minimally destructive to archaeological remains. The information gathered will enable Daventry District Council 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