Chapter One Chapter 1: Introduction by Andrew Mudd, Alan Lupton and Simon Mortimer Figure 1.1 Project location PROJECT LOCATION The archaeological work, which is the subject of this crossing the Churn Valley on a viaduct near Trinity report, was undertaken in advance of and during Farm. The Bypass then ran across Baunton Downs, the construction of the A419/A417 Trunk Road through Hare Bushes plantation and under the Burford Improvement between Swindon and Gloucester in Road (A429) before passing east of the village of south-western England (Fig. 1.1). The stretch of new Preston. It linked with the A419 south of Cirencester road ran for approximately 25 km between Nettleton at Driffield Crossroads and followed the existing road in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds (S0948136) and to a junction with Spine Road south-east of Fosse Farm. Cricklade (Wiltshire) on the Thames (SU102944). From here the Latton section swept behind Latton It closely followed the line of the existing A417 and Creamery and Street Farm, rejoining the A419 south A419, formerly Ermin Street, with the addition of of Latton village. The final section took it to a new bypasses around Cirencester and Stratton and the junction with the Marston Meysey road near Weavers village of Latton (Fig. 1.2). Bridge where it joined the existing Cricklade Bypass. On the northern section of the route the road joined the existing A417 at a new roundabout just south of GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY Birdlip Quarry (Fig. 1.3). The new road formed a second carriageway, added to the line of the existing road, In broad terms the area traversed by the road scheme running south-east as far as Daglingworth Quarry. can be divided into two topographic zones; the From here the Cirencester and Stratton Bypass ran Cotswolds, forming a zone of upland Jurassic across Bagendon Downs south of Peewits Hill, limestone, and the Upper Thames Valley which is a 1 Excavations alongside Roman Ermin Street, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire lowland area of river gravels and alluvial pockets. The Archaeologist for Gloucestershire, for funding to intermediate zone around Cirencester, roughly between undertake a preliminary study of the new road. The the White Way and Driffield, has a more complex assessment of the Cirencester and Stratton Bypass was geology of limestones and clays of the Forest Marble carried out by Cotswold Archaeological Trust (CAT) and Cornbrash Series (Figs 1.4-5). in 1990 for WSP Civils (formerly Frank Graham The northern section of the route between Birdlip Consulting Engineers), agents for the Department of Quarry and the Churn Valley crosses limestone of the Transport. Though undertaken before detailed Great Oolite series. The route gradually descends from information on the proposed route was available, about 270 m (885 ft) above sea level at Birdlip Quarry these surveys collated published and unpublished to about 150 m (490 ft) near Exhibition Barn (Fig. 1.5), documentary material and aerial photographs, although the highest section of the route is along together with the results of fieldwalking of arable land Gloucester Beeches (280 m, 915 ft). The geology is and a walkover survey of non-arable land, to identify characterised by outcrops of the underlying Fuller's a number of areas of potential archaeological interest Earth in many of the valleys, an impermeable clay (Russett 1989a and b; CAT 1990a). which forms a spring line, and the upper valleys are Archaeological investigation of the route of the therefore relatively well-watered. Latton Bypass commenced with a field evaluation South of the White Way, about as far as Witpit Lane, conducted by Thamesdown Archaeological Unit for the underlying geology is Forest Marble, which the Department of Transport on the cropmark focus of consists of weakly structured limestone, bedded with Scheduled Ancient Monument 899 (Digby 1988), clays, sands and silts. The underlying Great Oolite although some evaluation of the area had already been outcrops near Burford Road have been the object of undertaken in advance of the construction of a water extensive quarrying. South of Witpit Lane a thin band pipeline between Latton and Blunsdon (Digby 1977; of hard Cornbrash limestone, overlying the Forest 1987). A combination of fieldwalking, geophysical Marble, predominates as far as Fosse Farm. Here there survey and limited excavation demonstrated the is a small outcrop of Oxford Clay, but in the Latton monument to be principally of Roman date, with a section the underlying geology is First Terrace river concentration of occupation debris in the north-east gravels which form a very flat topography, descending quarter of the scheduled area. As a result of this from about 84 m OD to 80 m OD. Floodplain alluvium investigation, and following discussion with English is found closer to the rivers Churn and Thames south Heritage, the route was moved 30 m to the south-west of Weavers Bridge. in order to protect this area. A desk-top assessment of the Latton area was then commissioned from CAT by WSP Civils (formerly Frank PROJECT BACKGROUND Graham Consulting Engineers) on behalf of the The archaeological work carried out by the Oxford Highways Agency (CAT 1990b). The consultation of Archaeological Unit was the third stage of a programme cartographic sources, sites and monuments records of archaeological investigation along the road corridor. and aerial photographs together with field visits led The eventual DBFO scheme was developed by linking to the identification of 17 areas of archaeological together three previous road schemes; the North of potential. In the initial proposal the Latton bypass did Stratton to Nettleton Improvement (NOSNI), the not extend to the Marston Meysey junction. Once the Cirencester and Stratton Bypass and the Latton decision had been made to extend the route, an Bypass. The initial desk-based assessments (Stage 1) additional desk-based assessment was undertaken and field evaluations (Stage 2) for each of these (CAT 1991c). sections were undertaken as separate projects and to slightly different specifications, principally by the Stage 2a - Field evaluation Cotswold Archaeological Trust and Gloucestershire County Council Archaeology Service, with some Following the Stage 1 assessment, an intensive field preliminary work also undertaken by Thames- survey of the preferred route for the NOSNI section down Archaeological Unit. From the results of these was undertaken by GCCAS (GCC 1990). This survey investigations a scheme-wide Outline Project Design prospected for additional sites of archaeological was formulated, constituting the basis of the Stage 3 interest by systematic surface collection, aerial survey archaeological mitigation, the results of which form and the consultation of aerial photographs taken since the subject of this report. the Stage 1 survey. Identified sites were further evaluated by geophysical survey and trial excavation. This process highlighted a number of sites which Stage 1 - Desk-top assessment required more detailed investigation before road The initial phase of investigation in the NOSNI section construction. comprised a desk-based survey of the Preferred The desk-top assessment of the Cirencester and Route for the new road commissioned by the Stratton section identified 24 areas of archaeological Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission and potential along the preferred route (CAT 1990a). undertaken by Gloucestershire County Council Geophysical survey of these areas was followed in Archaeology Service (GCCAS) in 1988. This was 1991 by evaluation trenching and test-pitting prompted by a request from Jan Wills, County (CAT 1991a). During the Public Inquiry into the 2 Chapter One Figure 1.2 Map of the DBFO route showing the locations of the excavation sites. 3 Quarry Watercombe Farm, Figure 1.3 Detailed map of DBFO route. Chapter One Preferred Route, additional geophysical survey was Whereas the Stage 1 and Stage 2 assessments had undertaken in two areas of archaeological potential treated the three component sections of the overall where access had been previously denied. Owing to scheme as separate entities, the Stage 3 mitigation dealt access restrictions, only one of these areas was with the archaeological aspects of the development as subsequently investigated by evaluation trenching a scheme-wide project. (CAT 1993). A scheme of works was devised that provided the Stage 2 in the Latton area comprised 17 evaluation best correlation between the archaeological and trenches, targeted on the areas of potential identified construction requirements of the road. A total of 35 in the desk-top assessment, together with monitoring sites were the subject of further archaeological 42 ground investigation trial pits (CAT 1991b). investigation. The mitigation strategies for these sites An evaluation of the section to the Marston Meysey ranged from preservation in situ to full excavation and junction was completed later (CAT 1994a). included several levels of sampling defined by the terms sample excavation, selective sample excavation, strip and record and targeted watching brief. There Stage 2b - Project brief was also the provision for further evaluation of areas Following the production of the three separate Stage 2 of potential not covered by the Stage 2 assessments. assessment reports, both GCCAS and CAT were The individual strategies applied to each site are commissioned by WSP Civils (formerly Frank Graham summarised in Table 1.1. In addition, OAU was to Consulting Engineers) on behalf of the Highways carry out a scheme-wide watching brief on all the Agency to produce Outline Project Designs for all three remaining areas. schemes. The project design for the NOSNI section Initially, each site was referred to by the paragraph was produced by GCCAS (GCC 1994) while CAT number used in the original brief. It soon became clear, produced the project designs for the Cirencester and however, that this system was too clumsy for everyday Stratton and Latton sections (1994b and c). These were use and an eponymous system of site names and codes combined into one document referred to as was adopted.