Northamptonshire Archaeology Archaeological Watching Brief at SAS Institute, Medmenham Buckinghamshire Accession No. AYBCM: 2008.210 Susan Stratton and Leon Field January 2009 Report 08/186 Northamptonshire Archaeology 2 Bolton House Wootton Hall Park Northampton NN4 8BE t. 01604 700493 f. 01604 702822 e. [email protected] w. www.northantsarchaeology.co.uk SAS INSTITUTE, MEDMENHAM STAFF Project Manager W.A. Boismer BA, MPhil, MA, PhD, MIFA Text Susan Stratton BA Leon Field BA/BCom Fieldwork Susan Stratton Leon Field Illustrations Leon Field QUALITY CONTROL Print name Signed Date Checked by Pat Chapman Verified by W.A. Boismer Approved by Andy Chapman Northamptonshire Archaeology Report 08/186 SAS INSTITUTE, MEDMENHAM OASIS REPORT FORM PROJECT DETAILS Project name The SAS Institute, Medmenham, Buckinghamshire. Short description An archaeological watching brief was undertaken by Northamptonshire (250 words maximum) Archaeology during groundworks connected with construction of a new cricket pavilion at the SAS Institute, Medmenham, Buckinghamshire. Excavations revealed the area had been subject to extensive disturbance possibly related to the 20th- century RAF base, but no other archaeological features were uncovered. Project type Watching brief (eg DBA, evaluation etc) Site status None (none, NT, SAM etc) Previous work Archaeological Desk Top Assessment (Higgins 1998) (SMR numbers etc) Archaeological Trial Trenching CAS 1999.37 (NA). Archaeological watching brief 1999. (NA) Archaeological Watching Brief 2001-2002 (NA) Current Land use Open field Future work Yes, Development of cricket pavilion (yes, no, unknown) Monument type/ period Military, Modern Significant finds None (artefact type and period) PROJECT LOCATION County Buckinghamshire Site address SAS Institute, Henley Road, Medmenham, Marlow, Bucks, SL7 2EB (including postcode) Study area (sq.m or ha) 150 sq. m OS Easting & Northing SU (use grid sq. letter code) Height OD 72m OAD PROJECT CREATORS Organisation Northamptonshire Archaeology Project brief originator Buckinghamshire County Archaeological Service Project Design originator Northamptonshire Archaeology Director/Supervisor S. Stratton/ L. Field Project Manager W.A. Boismer Sponsor or funding body Costain LTD PROJECT DATE Start date 06 October 2008 End date 11 November 2008 ARCHIVES Location Content (eg pottery, animal bone etc) (Accession no.) Physical None Paper AYBCM:2008.210 Buckinghamshire County Museum Digital AYBCM:2008.210 Buckinghamshire County Museum BIBLIOGRAPHY Journal/monograph, published or forthcoming, or unpublished client report (NA report) Title Archaeological Watching Brief at the SAS Institute, Medmenham, Buckinghamshire Serial title & volume 08/186 Author(s) S. Stratton, L. Field Page numbers 11 Date November 2008 Northamptonshire Archaeology Report 08/186 SAS INSTITUTE, MEDMENHAM Contents Page 1 INTRODUCTION 1 2 BACKGROUND 1 2.1 Location and Topography 2.2 Archaeological Background 3 OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY 2 3.1 Objectives 3.2 Methodology 4 RESULTS 3 4.1 Footings trenches 4.2 Services trenches 5 DISCUSSION 4 BIBLIOGRAPHY 5 APPENDIX 1: CONTEXT INDEX 6 Figures Fig 1: Site location Fig 2: The development site Plates Cover: Pre-excavation view of field looking south-east Plate 1: Section of footings trench showing layer (103), looking south-west Plate 2: Footings trench, looking north-east Northamptonshire Archaeology Report 08/186 SAS INSTITUTE, MEDMENHAM ARCHAEOLOGICAL WATCHING BRIEF AT THE SAS INSTITUTE, MEDMENHAM, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE OCTOBER 2008 ACCESSION NO: AYBCM:2008.210 ABSTRACT During October and November 2008 Northamptonshire Archaeology carried out a watching brief during groundwork connected to the construction of a new cricket pavilion for the SAS Institute, Medmenham, Buckinghamshire. Excavations revealed the area had been subject to extensive disturbance possibly related to the 20th-century RAF base, but no other archaeological features were uncovered. 1 INTRODUCTION Northamptonshire Archaeology carried out an archaeological watching brief during groundwork connected with construction of a new cricket pavilion for the SAS Institute, Medmenham, Buckinghamshire (NGR SU 817 846: Fig 1). The work was undertaken on behalf of Brocklehurst Architects acting for their client Costain Ltd, in order to fulfil the objectives of a request for archaeological attendance and investigation as required by the Senior Archaeological Officer, Buckinghamshire County Archaeological Service in a brief for archaeological work (BCAS 2008). 2 BACKGROUND 2.1 Location and Topography The cricket pavilion development area comprised 150m2 of land located within the grounds of the former RAF Medmenham, bounded by the A4155 road to the north and west (Fig 1). The SAS Institute office buildings are situated to the south-east. The surviving earthworks of the large multivallate, Iron Age Hillfort of Danesfield Camp lie 250m to the south of the development area, overlooking the River Thames. The ground slopes very gently to the south towards the River Thames, which lies c 350m away. The underlying geology comprises plateau gravels and the site lies at 72m OAD. Northamptonshire Archaeology Report 08/186 Page 1 of 6 SAS INSTITUTE, MEDMENHAM 2.2 Archaeological Background An archaeological evaluation comprising both a desk-based assessment (Higgins 1998) and a trial trenching evaluation (NA 1998) was carried out prior to major development of the site in 1998. The desk-based assessment showed that the development area was originally part of a medieval estate. Following a division of the estate in the mid 17th century, a succession of residences was built on the site. The location of the earliest of these residences, Medlycotts, is unknown although it may lie in the same place as its successors, Danesfield House' I and II, whose position, along with ancillary buildings, is marked on 19th-century maps of the area. Danesfield II included the addition of a chapel designed by Augustus Pugin and finished by his son in c 1853. The building survived until c 1901 when the final demolition took place and Danesfield was rebuilt to the south of its predecessors within the interior of the hillfort (Higgins op cit, 4.3). The trial trenching identified truncated structural remains belonging to Danesfield House, as well as those of a contemporary icehouse. Scattered pits and ditches of probable Iron Age date were also revealed. A subsequent watching brief undertaken within the Hillfort during a programme of test-pits uncovered no archaeological features (NA 1999). A further phase of watching brief was commissioned prior to the construction of new offices and sports facilities for the SAS Institute in 2001-2002. The work revealed the presence of further scattered pits across the site, which were similar to those seen in the trial trenching excavations and interpreted as Iron Age features (Holmes 2005). 3 OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY 3.1 Objectives The aims of the watching brief as set out in the specification for ground works (NA 2008) were: • Observe, investigate and record all archaeological deposits, uncovered during the groundworks for the new cricket pavilion, along with any other associated groundworks • Determine and record the date, extent, character, state of preservation and depth of burial of any archaeological deposits. • Create a permanent archive and record of the archaeological information collected during the course of the fieldwork and analysis. Northamptonshire Archaeology Report 08/186 Page 2 of 6 SAS INSTITUTE, MEDMENHAM 3.2 Methodology The watching brief encompassed an approximate area of 150m2 across the intended area of the footings for the new cricket pavilion and service trenches associated with the new buildings construction (Fig 2) The removal of the topsoil and other overburden was carried out by a tracked 360-degree mechanical excavator, fitted with a 0.50m-wide toothless ditching bucket, operating under continuous archaeological supervision. In all areas mechanical excavation proceeded at least as far as the natural substrate or the first significant archaeological horizons. In most cases however the groundwork was required to proceed through to a greater depth than necessary for archaeological supervision due to the footing for the pavilion being dug. All groundwork was supervised by a qualified archaeologist. Any potential archaeological features were to be investigated by hand excavation. Standard Northamptonshire Archaeology recording procedures were employed (NA 2003). All works were undertaken in agreement with the county curator and conducted in accordance with IFA Standards and Guidance for Archaeological Field Evaluation (1994, revised 2001), the Code of Conduct of the Institute for Archaeologists (1985, revised 2006), the standards and guidelines for an archaeological watching brief (IFA 2000) and the requirements set out in the Specification for groundworks (NA 2008). 4 RESULTS 4.1 Footings trenches The natural orange gravels were encountered at an average depth of 0.30m. These gravels were overlain by a layer of disturbed mid grey topsoil. There were occasional modern inclusions, and a modern construction layer (103) was seen in the north-east part of the footings (Plate 2 and 3). No other archaeological deposits were seen during the footings excavations, with only modern brick pieces and a disused electrical service cable seen throughout. 4.2 Service trenches A water services trench, 0.60m wide, was excavated from the north-east corner of the area of the cricket pavilion towards