Wessex Archaeology

Plot 6, Atlantic Trading Estate, Barry, Vale of Glamorgan

Archaeological Evaluation Report

Ref: 63320.02 September 2006 PLOT 6, ATLANTIC TRADING ESTATE, BARRY, VALE OF GLAMORGAN

Archaeological Evaluation Report

Prepared for

SLR Consulting Treenwood House Rowden Lane Bradford On Avon BA15 2AY

On behalf of

Vale of Glamorgan Borough Council Civic Offices Holton Road Barry CF63 4RU

By Wessex Archaeology Portway House Old Sarum Park SALISBURY Wiltshire SP4 6EB

Ref 63320.02

September 2006

Wessex Archaeology Limited 2006 Wessex Archaeology Limited is a Registered Charity No.28778

PLOT 6, ATLANTIC TRADING ESTATE, BARRY, VALE OF GLAMORGAN

Archaeological Evaluation Report

Contents

FIGURES ...... I

1. INTRODUCTION ...... 1

1.1 Project Background ...... 1

1.2 Site Location and Description ...... 1

1.3 Geology and Topography ...... 1

1.4 Historical and Archaeological Background ...... 2

2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ...... 3

2.1 Introduction ...... 3

3 METHODOLOGY ...... 3

3.1 Introduction ...... 3

3.2 Trial trench excavation ...... 3

3.3 Survey ...... 3

4 RESULTS ...... 4

5 ARTEFACT SAMPLING ...... 5

6 ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLING ...... 5

7 CONCLUSION ...... 5

REFERENCES

APPENDICES Appendix 1 – Trench Summaries

FIGURES Figure 1: Site and evaluation trench location maps Figure 2: Sections 1 and 2 with plates

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PLOT 6, ATLANTIC TRADING ESTATE, BARRY, VALE OF GLAMORGAN

Archaeological Evaluation Report

Summary

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by SLR Consulting, as agents to the Vale of Glamorgan Borough Council, to undertake a scheme of archaeological evaluation at the site of a proposed household waste recycling centre at Plot 6, Atlantic Trading Estate, Barry (centred at NGR 313430 167220, ‘the Site’).

The fieldwork was undertaken between the 6th and 10th of August 2006.

No archaeological features or finds were recorded during the evaluation. Although undisturbed natural geological strata were reached in the base of all trenches, substantial deposits of modern made ground, mainly demolition debris deriving from modern-day site use, were recorded across the Site. At its south-eastern extent these deposits appeared to have been used to establish a level plateau.

On the basis of the results of the trial trenching the Curator determined that no further mitigation would be required for the development of the Site.

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PLOT 6, ATLANTIC TRADING ESTATE, BARRY, VALE OF GLAMORGAN

Archaeological Evaluation Report

Acknowledgements

The project was commissioned by SLR Consulting on behalf of the Vale of Glamorgan Borough Council, and Wessex Archaeology is particularly grateful to Christopher Herbert of SLR in this regard. Keith Sulsh from VoG Borough Council is thanked for his invaluable assistance throughout the fieldwork, and thanks are also extended to Jim Parry from the Curatorial Division of the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust for his helpful advice.

The fieldwork was undertaken by Mike Dinwiddy, Steve George and Angela McCall. This report was prepared by Mike Dinwiddy, with illustrations prepared by Elizabeth James. Brigitte Buss managed the project on behalf of Wessex Archaeology.

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PLOT 6, ATLANTIC TRADING ESTATE, BARRY, VALE OF GLAMORGAN

Archaeological Evaluation Report

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Project Background

1.1.1 Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by SLR Consulting (‘the Client’), as agents to the Vale of Glamorgan Borough Council, to undertake a scheme of archaeological evaluation at the site of a proposed household waste recycling centre at Plot 6, Atlantic Trading Estate, Barry (centred at NGR 313430 167220, hereafter ‘the Site’) (Figure 1).

1.1.2 The proposed development comprises a split level civic amenity facility, including the construction of a new access road, storage areas and a number of large hard standing areas.

1.1.3 A planning application (06/00055/REG3) for the proposed scheme has been submitted by the Client. Due to a significant archaeological resource in the area, the Curatorial Division of the Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust (the Council’s archaeological advisors, hereafter ‘the Curator’) required a programme of archaeological evaluation prior to the determination of the planning application.

1.1.4 Prior to the commencement of fieldwork Wessex Archaeology prepared a Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI, WA doc ref T10303.01) in accordance with the specifications set by the Curator, which was subsequently approved.

1.2 Site Location and Description

1.2.1 The proposed development site forms part of Plot 6 in an industrial estate (Atlantic Trading Estate) east of the Barry Docks. To the south it borders onto the shoreline of Bridgwater Bay, whilst to the north, east and west it is bounded by the yet undeveloped part of the estate. An access track encloses the perimeter of the Site.

1.2.2 The Site is broadly triangular of approximately 1.62ha size, with a north-east aligned spur within the footprint of the proposed new access road.

1.3 Geology and Topography

1.3.1 The underlying geology of the Site consists of Triassic red mudstone of the Mercia group (BGS Drift Sheet 263, 1989). The Site lies at approximately 10m above Ordnance Datum (aOD)(OS Explorer Map 1:25 000 Map sheet 152, 1998).

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1.3.2 Plot 6 has been under commercial use in the recent past, but is currently a derelict site covered in rough grassland. A topographic survey of the Site preceding the evaluation showed the ground to be higher along the road along the southern boundary, and it was assumed that material may have been placed along the road, effectively remodelling the Site contours, during demolition works since 1995.

1.3.3 The site of a small archaeological excavation to the south-west of the current Site (at NGR 313300 167200), undertaken by GGAT in recent years, remained exposed at the time of the field investigation. The site forms one of two Bronze Age settlement sites known in the vicinity (see Section 1.4., below).

1.4 Historical and Archaeological Background

1.4.1 The following is a summary of GGAT’s description of the general archaeological and historical background of the wider area (GGAT 2006):

Bronze Age (2400-700 BC) 1.4.2 The earliest evidence for Bronze Age occupation consists of two settlement sites near the coastline (NGR 313300 167200 and 313120 167400). The evidence suggested that at least one settlement had been remodelled a number of times and had probably been in use for an extended period of time, from approximately 2000 BC to 900BC. Funerary evidence of this period is represented by the presence of a round barrow at the latter site, and by Collared Urn pottery within the former site’s assemblages.

Roman (AD 43-410) 1.4.3 Evidence from the Roman period in the area consists primarily of funerary remains and coin finds. A large unfurnished, and apparently Christian, inhumation cemetery west of the former course of the Cadoxton River was excavated by GGAT in the 1980s. It produced over 45 burials, some interred in stone-lined cists, and dated by radiocarbon to between 240 and 890 AD. A further cist burial was found to the south of the Police House in Hayes Road (NGR 313820 167710). Burials around the area of the depot have also been reported on an anecdotal basis from the Second World War, leading to the area southwest of the houses in Bendrick Road being known as ‘Elephants Graveyard’. One proposed reason for the location of these features is the reported presence of a causeway linking Sully to Barry Island at low water. A road following the line of Hayes Road and Bendrick Road has been suggested for this route.

Medieval (1066-1499) 1.4.4 Structural evidence for medieval occupation of the area has been limited. However, during excavations in the 1980s to the south-east of Hayes Road (NGR 313550 167610) a corn drying kiln was recorded and radiocarbon-dated to the late 11th/early 12th century. Quantities of medieval pottery have also been found in the allotments to the west of Bendrick Road and documentary records alluding to the ports of Scully and fisheries at Bendricks suggest that a medieval settlement of some importance existed in the vicinity.

Modern 1.4.5 The creation of Scully Estate in 1812 saw the medieval and early medieval boundaries removed and a new field pattern established. The new landholding was

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centred on a new farm constructed at Hayes Farm, possibly by French prisoners of war, which utilized a windmill to power agricultural machinery.

1.4.6 The construction of Barry Docks (started in 1884) and the canalization of the Cadoxton River to a new straighter course considerably altered the landscape of the area. Two short terraces of houses were also constructed at Bendrick Road on a part of the route of the old road from Sully to Barry Island. However, the construction of the Supply and Reserve Depot immediately before the Second World War saw the biggest change to the area, with the base later becoming the Atlantic Trading Estate.

2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

2.1 Introduction

2.1.1 The aim of the evaluation was to elucidate the character, distribution, extent, importance and state of preservation of any archaeological remains within the Site, particularly any related to the nearby Bronze Age settlements, and those of a Roman and medieval date related to known activity of that date in the wider area.

3 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

3.1.1 The evaluation methodology was set out and agreed in the WSI and is not re- iterated in full here.

3.2 Trial trench excavation

3.2.1 The fieldwork was undertaken between the 6th and 10th of August 2006. The evaluation consisted of the machine-excavation of five trial trenches (Figure 1). Each trial trench was excavated to the first archaeological horizon encountered or to the top of the natural geological horizon.

3.2.2 In the project design the position of the trenches had been targeted in accordance with the impact of various areas of the development design available at the time. The design is currently undergoing revision (Keith Sulsh, pers. comm.), and specific impact targets could not be re-assessed in time for the fieldwork.

3.2.3 No trench alterations were undertaken in the field with the exception of Trench 6, whose excavation was abandoned due to the presence of a tarmac access road in its proposed location.

3.3 Survey

3.3.1 The trial trenches were located and re-surveyed after trench excavation using a Leica GPS system.

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4 RESULTS

4.1.1 Five sample sections of the geological sequence were recorded. Two are illustrated in Figure 2. All trenches are summarised in tabulated form in Appendix 1.

4.1.2 Trench 1 (Figure 2) was located to the extreme north west of the Site and was aligned approximately north-south. Trench dimension were 10m x 2m in plan and the maximum trench depth reached 0.43m below ground level (BGL). In section 0.16m of topsoil (101), a greyish brown silty loam with occasional small angular well sorted gravels was seen to overlie deposit (102), a modern derived deposit of a dark grey silty sand, with abundant clinker inclusions. Natural geology was reached at 0.23m from the top of the trench, and consisted of a reddish brown silty clay with very rare inclusions of well sorted angular stone. The natural was undisturbed and contained no archaeological features.

4.1.3 Trench 2 was excavated at centre-west of the Site, and was aligned approximately east-west. Trench dimensions were 20m x 2m, with a maximum depth of 1.56m BGL. A thin topsoil (context (201)), a reddish brown silty clay with frequent inclusions of angular well sorted stone, was found to form the topmost 0.07m of the trench section. Below this context (202) consisted of a modern dump deposit of c. 1.1m thickness, a reddish brown silty clay with abundant moderately sorted stone and rubble mottled with dark greyish lenses. Modern debris was noted as present within the fill. Below this, a buried topsoil of 0.15m was noted, context (203), which consisted of dark reddish brown silty clay with some organic component within the matrix occasional well sorted stones. Natural geology was encountered at 1.33m BGL (context (204)), a brownish red clay with rare to occasional inclusions of poorly sorted sub-angular stone. No archaeological features were encountered in Trench 2.

4.1.4 Trench 3 was aligned southwest-northeast and was situated at the centre of the Site. The trench measured 20m x 2m and reached a maximum depth of 0.92m BGL. Here, a compact brown silty loam with moderately sorted pale mudstone represented the active soil horizon (301) and was recorded to a depth of 0.14m BGL. Below it, made ground of 0.41m thickness was recorded (context (302)), and consisted of a dark reddish brown silty clay loam with moderately sorted large mudstone inclusions. Natural geology, context (303), was encountered at 0.56m BGL, a reddish brown silty clay with occasional to rare incidents of mudstone. No archaeological features were present.

4.1.5 Trench 4 (Figure 2) was located at the northern-most area of the Site. It was aligned ENE-WSW and measured 20m x 2m. Machined depth reached 1.33m BGL. The topsoil, (401), was 0.36m deep and consisted of a dark reddish silty loam which had moderate inclusions of sub angular stone. Below it a dumped layer, context (402), was found to be 0.82m thick and consisted of dark reddish brown silty clay with common poorly sorted stone and rubble frequent inclusions of clinker and possible industrial waste. The natural geology, context (403), was reached at 1.18m BGL and consisted of a dark brownish red silty clay. No archaeological components were identified in this trench.

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4.1.6 Trench 5, aligned northwest-southeast, was located at the southern most point of the Site. The trench measured 20m x 2m in plan and was machine-excavated to a depth of 0.66m BGL. The modern soil horizon, (501), here was light gray sandy silt with frequent inclusions of angular gravels of an overall thickness of 0.15m. Below (501) three layers of dumped material, (502), (503) and (504), were observed, making up a total thickness of 0.47m. These layers of made ground consisted of a poorly sorted local rock and builder’s rubble with frequent inclusions of clinker and industrial detritus of a recent date. The natural geology, represented by context (505), was encountered at 0.62m BGL and consisted of a reddish brown clay with poorly sorted rare inclusions of small sub-angular stone. No archaeological features were present in Trench 5.

5 ARTEFACT SAMPLING

5.1.1 All artefacts observed were of a demonstrably modern date and therefore not retained.

6 ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLING

6.1.1 No deposits with palaeo-environmental potential were identified during the fieldwork and therefore now samples were taken.

7 CONCLUSION

7.1.1 During the course of the evaluation made ground up to 1m thickness was observed as present across the entire Site below a thin cover of active soil. The depth of the made ground varied considerably and generally seem to increase in depth from west to east. At the south-eastern extent of the Site the made ground appeared to have been used to establish a level plateau.

7.1.2 The modern made ground deposits appeared to originate from the construction and subsequent demolition of buildings in the mid-20th century and from rubbish disposal (fly-tipping).

7.1.3 No archaeological deposits were encountered during the evaluation. The evidence from the trial trenching suggests that the construction of the Supply and Reserve Depot before World War II, and the subsequent demolition of the then trading estate facilities would have obliterated any such remains present on the Site. It also supports the results of the recent topographic survey which suggested that the current landform was established after the demolition works in 1995.

7.1.4 Current development proposals indicate that the waste facility design would be contained entirely within additionally imported materials (Keith Sulsh pers. comm.), and therefore any impact on in situ deposits where they may survive on the Site is negligible. Therefore no further mitigation is required by the Curator.

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REFERENCES

GGAT Curatorial 2006. Proposed Development of Household Waste Recycling Centre, Plot 6, Atlantic Trading Estate, Barry. Brief for Archaeological Evaluation

Plot 6, Atlantic Trading Estate, Barry, Vale of Glamorgan. Written Scheme of Investigation for a Programme of Archaeological Evaluation. WA doc ref T10303.01

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APPENDIX 1 – Trench summaries

Trench 1 Max Depth BGL: Dimensions: Alignment: 0.43m 10m x 2m North-south Context Type Description Depth (BGL) 101 Topsoil greyish brown silty loam with 0-0.16m occasional small angular well sorted gravels 102 Modern made dark gray silty sand, with 0.16-0.23m ground abundant clinker inclusions 103 Natural reddish brown silty clay with 0.23-0.43m very rare inclusions of well sorted angular stone

Trench 2 Max Depth BGL Dimensions: 20m Alignment: 1.56m 20m x 2m East-west Context Type Description Depth (BGL) 201 Topsoil reddish brown silty clay with 0-0.07m frequent inclusions of angular well sorted stone 202 Modern made reddish brown silty clay with 0.07-1.18m ground abundant moderately sorted stone and rubble mottled with dark greyish lenses. Modern debris present within the fill 203 Buried topsoil dark reddish brown silty clay 1.18-1.33m with some organic component; occasional well sorted stones 204 Natural brownish red clay with rare to 1.33-1.56m occasional inclusions of poorly sorted sub-angular stone.

Trench 3 Max Depth BGL: Dimensions: Alignment: 0.92m 20m x 2m NE-SW 301 Topsoil compact brown silty loam with 0-0.14m moderately sorted pale mudstone 302 Modern made dark reddish brown silty clay 0.14-0.55m ground loam with moderately sorted large mudstone inclusions 303 Natural reddish brown silty clay, with 0.55-0.92m occasional to rare inclusions of mudstone

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Trench 4 Max Depth BGL: Dimensions: Alignment: 1.33m 20m x 2m ENE-WSW 401 Topsoil a dark reddish silty loam which 0-0.36m had moderate inclusions of sub angular stone 402 Modern made a dark reddish brown silty clay 0.36-1.18m ground with common poorly sorted stone and rubble frequent inclusions of clinker and possible industrial waste 403 Natural a dark brownish red silty clay 0.18-1.33m

Trench 5 Max Depth BGL: Dimensions: Alignment: 0.66m 20m x 2m NE-SW 501 Topsoil light gray sandy silt with 0-0.15m frequent inclusions of angular gravels 502 Modern made made ground made up of a 0.15-0.47m ground poorly sorted local rock and builder’s rubble with frequent inclusions of clinker and modern industrial detritus 503 Modern made As 503 ground 504 Modern made As 503 ground 505 Natural a reddish brown clay with poorly 0.47-0.66m sorted rare inclusions of small sub-angular stone.

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THE SITE CARDIFF BRISTOL Trench 4 Barry Section 1 Section 2

313000 314000 Trench 1 169000

BARRY Trench 3 A4055

Access Road

Trench 2 Disturbance 168000

Trench 5

167000 THE SITE

Evaluation trench

Proposed building

0 50m Reproduced from the 1998 Ordnance Survey 1:25000 Explorer ® map with the permission of the controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office © Crown copyright, Wessex Archaeology, Portway House, Old Sarum Park, Salisbury, Wiltshire. SP4 6EB Licence Number: 100028190. Digital map data 2004 © XYZ Digital Map Company Site plan supplied by Client This material is for client report only © Wessex Archaeology. No unauthorised reproduction.

Revision Number: 0 Illustrator: SEJ Date: 22/9/06 Wessex Scale: 1:100000, 1:25000 & 1:1000 Archaeology Path: Y:\Projects\60000\DO\Rep Figs\WSI-eval\06_08_23\Sitebase.dwg Site and evaluation trench location maps Figure 1 Section 1

N S 7.843mOD

101

102

103

Trench 1 section (Section 1)

Section 2

NE SW 9.981mOD

401

402

403

Trench 4 section (Section 2)

0 1m

This material is for client report only © Wessex Archaeology. No unauthorised reproduction.

Date:23/08/06 Revision Number: 0

Wessex Scale: 1:20Illustrator: SEJ

Archaeology Path: Y:\PROJECTS\63320\Drawing Office\Report Figs\WSI-eval\06_08_23\A4fig2.cdr

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