An Interim Report for Archaeological Excavation on Land at Plot 8, Redhouse, Adwick-Le-Street, Doncaster 2001
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An Interim Report for Archaeological Excavation on land at Plot 8, Redhouse, Adwick-le-Street, Doncaster 2001 Report No. 16/96 Author and Illustrator: Carol Simmonds MOLA Northampton MOLA Project Manager: Ant Maull Bolton House Site Code: DONMG:2000.114 Wootton Hall Park NGR: 452600 408900 Northampton NN4 8BN 01604 809800 www.mola.org.uk [email protected] An Interim Report for Archaeological Excavation on land at Plot 8, Redhouse, Adwick-le-Street, Doncaster 2001 Report No. 16/96 Site Code: DONMG:2000.114 Quality control and sign off: Issue Date Checked by: Verified by: Approved by: Reason for Issue: No. approved: C Finn and P 1 02/06/2016 S Parry A Maull Draft for client approval Chapman 2 08/06/2016 C Finn S Parry Final Report 3 16/6/2016 C Simmonds Amendment from client Project Manager: Anthony Maull Author and Illustrator: Carol Simmonds MOLA Northampton 2016 MOLA Bolton House Wootton Hall Park Northampton NN4 8BN 01604 809800 www.mola.org.uk [email protected] MOLA Northampton is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales with company registration number 8727508 and charity registration number 1155198. Registered office: Mortimer Wheeler House, 46 Eagle Wharf Road, London N1 7ED. OASIS REPORT FORM PROJECT DETAILS Oasis No. molanort1-253395 An Interim Report for Archaeological Excavation on land at Plot 8, Project name Redhouse, Adwick-le-Street, Doncaster, 2001 MOLA has been commissioned by Redhouse Projects to produce an interim report on archaeological fieldwork undertaken by Northamptonshire Archaeology in 2001 on part of Plot 8, Adwick-le-Street, Doncaster. The Short description archaeological remains comprised a small rectangular enclosure dated to the late Iron Age- early Roman period, probably associated with a field system. In form it is similar to another enclosure previously identified to the north-east, which could be part of the same field system. Project type Excavation Site status None Assessment Report Upson-Smith 2002; Desk-based Assessment Newman 1995; Geophysical Survey Badcock and Merrony 1995, Northamptonshire Previous works Archaeology 2001; Excavation Francis 1995, Young 1996, Meadows and Chapman 2005, Upson-Smith 2002, Upson-Smith 2006, Simmonds 2016; Watching Brief Lewis 2003, Upson Smith 2007 Current Land use Unknown Future work Unknown Monument type/ period Romano-British enclosure Significant finds Pottery, quern PROJECT LOCATION County South Yorkshire Site address Plot 8, Redhouse, Adwick-le-Street, Doncaster Study area c.7ha OS Easting & Northing NGR 452600 408900 Height OD 35m-50m aOD PROJECT CREATORS Organisation MOLA Northampton, formerly Northamptonshire Archaeology Project brief originator Project design originator Northamptonshire Archaeology Director/Supervisor Anthony Maull/Tim Upson-Smith Project Manager Anthony Maull Sponsor or funding body Redhouse Projects PROJECT DATE Start date April 2001 End date March 2003 ARCHIVES Location (Accession no.) Content Physical Pottery; animal bone; quern; Paper Site records; background data, DONMG:2000.114 photographs; plans and sections on Digital permatrace Survey data; reports; digital photographs BIBLIOGRAPHY Journal, published or forthcoming, or unpublished client report An Interim Report for Archaeological Excavation on land at Plot 8, Title Redhouse, Adwick-le-Street, Doncaster, 2001 Serial title & volume MOLA Northampton report, 16/96 Author(s) Carol Simmonds Page numbers 6 Date 2 June 2016, final report issued 8 June 2016 MOLA Report 16/96 i DONCASTER, ADWICK-LE-STREET, REDHOUSE, PLOT 8 Contents 1 INTRODUCTION 2 BACKGROUND 2.1 Location, topography and geology 2.2 Archaeological and historical background 3 EXCAVATION METHODOLOGY 4 SUMMARY OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESULTS: ENCLOSURE 4 5 THE ARTEFACTS AND ECOFACTS 5.1 The pottery 5.2 The animal bone 5.3 The quern 5.4 Iron nails 5.5 The ecofacts BIBLIOGRAPHY Tables Table 1: Pottery, Enclosure 4 Figures Front cover: Trench 6, looking north-east Fig 1: Site location Fig 2: Location of Plot 8 and Area 12 (enclosure E4) Fig 3: The archaeological landscape Fig 4: Enclosure E4, looking south-west Fig 5: Area 12, enclosure E4 and field system Fig 6: Enclosure E4 [1144] and field system ditch [2398], Section 69 Fig 7: Ditches 1144 and 2398, looking west Fig 8: Enclosure E4 and internal pits Fig 9: The field ditch system Fig 10: Pit 1130, looking north Back cover: 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey map of the site MOLA Report 16/96 ii An Interim Report for Archaeological Excavation on land at Plot 8, Redhouse, Adwick-le-Street, Doncaster 2001 Abstract MOLA has been commissioned by Redhouse Projects to produce an interim report on archaeological fieldwork undertaken by Northamptonshire Archaeology in 2001 on part of Plot 8, Adwick-le-Street, Doncaster. The archaeological remains comprised a small rectangular enclosure dated to the late Iron Age- early Roman period, probably associated with a field system. In form it is similar to another enclosure previously identified to the north-east, which could be part of the same field system. 1 INTRODUCTION MOLA has been commissioned by Redhouse Projects Ltd to produce an interim report on archaeological fieldwork undertaken by Northamptonshire Archaeology in 2001, on part of Plot 8, Adwick-le-Street, Doncaster (NGR 452600 408900; Fig 1). The proposed development area, covering 7ha of land, (Area 12; Figs 2 and 3) is situated in the north-west side of the Redhouse development which totals some 70ha. Much of this site has now been developed into commercial units. The archaeological remains in Plot 8 comprised a small rectangular enclosure (E4) probably associated with a field system. In form it was similar to another enclosure E2 which was situated to the north-east, and which also respects the alignment of the field system, suggesting they may be contemporary. This interim report has been written in response to discussions between Redhouse Projects, their archaeological consultants Jacobs and CgMs Consulting, as well as Dinah Saich of the South Yorkshire Archaeology Service (SYAS). Redhouse Projects are in the process of submitting a planning application for the land to Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council (DMBC). It is proposed that a commercial unit will be built over two phases, the final building encompassing some c1.39ha (150,000sq feet). 2 BACKGROUND 2.1 Location, topography and geology The Doncaster Redhouse development is situated on the outskirts of Adwick-le- Street some 6.5km to the north-west of Doncaster. The wider development area is bounded by the A1M motorway on its western side and by the Great North Road (A638) on its northern and eastern sides. The southern boundary is defined by Long Lands Lane. The site lies on a north-east facing hillside, with ground falling from 50m above Ordnance Datum (aOD) in the southern corner to 35m aOD in the north- eastern-corner. The general geological profile comprises Upper Magnesian Limestone with areas of colluvial soils, red clay and marls (Upson-Smith 2002). Plot 8 lies within the north-western part of the Redhouse development area (Fig 2). MOLA Northampton Report 16/96 Page 1 of 13 0 500m Redhouse development area © Crown Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. Licence Number 100047514 Plot 8 development Scale 1:10,000 Site location and proposed trenches Fig 1 disturbed area ine hedge l k c a r t Redhouse development area 0 250m Survey areas Plot 8 development Contains Ordnance Survey data License Number 100047514 © Crown copyright and database right 2016. archaeological features Scale 1:7,500 Location of Plot 8 and Area 12 (enclosure E4) Fig 2 DONCASTER, ADWICK-LE-STREET, REDHOUSE, PLOT 8 2.2 Archaeological and historical background The following archaeological background is drawn from the Assessment Report (Upson-Smith 2002), and quotes Historic Environment Record numbers (HER). A landscape of dispersed enclosures set within associated field systems was known from cropmark data. The recorded cropmarks extended from Hooton Pagnell c.3.5km to the west to the cropmarks visible within the wider Redhouse development area. A further extensive landscape of prehistoric and Roman enclosures and fields was located to the north at Campsall (c.5.5km) and at Burghwallis (c.3.5km). The site encompasses a total of c.70ha of prehistoric and Roman field systems which lie adjacent to Ermine Street, a Roman road leading from Doncaster (Danum) to York (Eboracum) (Ermine Street HER 4915; and this section of the road at Roman Ridge HER 03039). The cropmarks visible on aerial photographs clearly show a landscape of enclosures set within fields and trackways and probably defined by ditches (HER 02691/01). Broadly speaking the field system was orientated east to west, formed of rectangular fields, and was thought to be of Roman date. However, the excavation and watching brief works within Areas 3, 10 and 11 (Upson Smith 2007) revealed that some of the fields were not rectangular and were of varying sizes, perhaps suggesting continuity from an earlier landscape (Fig 3). Previous archaeological work As part of the wider planning remit, the development consortium Teesland Management Services (TMS), requested an archaeological evaluation in advance of planning application, and they commissioned a desk-based assessment as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment (Newman 1995). This was followed by targeted geophysical survey carried out by ARCUS (Badcock and Merrony 1995). A section through the Roman road was examined by West Yorkshire Archaeology Service in 1995 (Francis 1995) and the remainder of the area by Northern Archaeological Associates between September and October 1996 (Young 1996). They examined the aerial photographic plot of the visible cropmarks and the geophysical results, and excavated ten trial excavation trenches. Further areas were highlighted through geophysical survey (Northamptonshire Archaeology 2001) as having high archaeological potential. In 2000 TMS commissioned Babtie Group to design the mitigation strategy which was implemented with the agreement of SYAS and overseen by Babtie and John Samuels Archaeology Services (JSAC).