LAND AT CHURCH FARM, ASHCHURCH, GLOUCESTERSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL WATCHING BRIEF C.A.T JOB: 1170 C.A.T REPORT: 01065 DATE: JUNE 2001 This report has been researched and compiled with all reasonable skill, care, and attention to detail within the terms of the project as specified by the Client and within the general terms and conditions of Cotswold Archaeological Trust Ltd. The Trust shall not be liable for any inaccuracy, error or omission in the report or other documents produced as part of the Consultancy and no liability is accepted for any claim, loss or damage howsoever arising from any opinion stated or conclusion or other material contained in this report or other documents supplied as part of the Consultancy. This report is confidential to the Client. Cotswold Archaeological Trust Ltd accept no responsibility whatsoever to third parties to whom this report, or any part of it is made known. Any such party relies upon this report entirely at their own risk. © Cotswold Archaeological Trust Headquarters Building, Kemble Business Park, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 6BQ Tel. 01285 771022 Fax. 01285 771033 E-mail: [email protected] Land at Church Farm, Ashchurch, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Watching Brief CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ........................................................................................... 2 SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................... 3 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 4 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 4 1.2 The Study Area .............................................................................................. 4 1.3 Geology and Topography .............................................................................. 4 1.4 Archaeological and Historical Background ................................................. 5 1.5 Methodology .................................................................................................. 5 2. WATCHING BRIEF RESULTS ............................................................................ 6 2.1 The ground reduction works ......................................................................... 6 2.2 The drainage trench and soakaway .............................................................. 6 3. CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................... 7 3.1 General .......................................................................................................... 7 4. PROJECT TEAM AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................. 7 5. BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................. 7 APPENDIX 1 ................................................................................................................... 11 1 Land at Church Farm, Ashchurch, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Watching Brief LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig.1 Location plan ................................................................................................. 9 Fig.2 Plan of development showing location of posthole [501] ............................. 10 2 Land at Church Farm, Ashchurch, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Watching Brief SUMMARY In April 2001, Cotswold Archaeological Trust was commissioned by Mr J Ash to undertake an archaeological watching brief on land at Church Farm, Ashchurch, Gloucestershire. The work was undertaken subsequent to an archaeological evaluation carried out in March 2001 which identified a series of medieval ditches dating to the 12th-13th centuries AD, possibly representing the establishment of a medieval field system contemporaneous with the construction of the adjacent St Nicholas’s Church, and the formalisation of the village layout in the 12th century (CAT 2001b). A single undated posthole was identified during the watching brief. 3 Land at Church Farm, Ashchurch, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Watching Brief 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction 1.1.1 Cotswold Archaeological Trust (CAT) carried out an archaeological watching brief on land at Church Farm, Ashchurch, Gloucestershire between April and June 2001. The site is centred on NGR SO 9270 3345 (Fig.1). 1.1.2 The watching brief was undertaken as a condition of planning consent granted by Tewkesbury Borough Council (Ref. 476.4.6; 01/3742/0101/FUL) for the construction of a single-storey timber-built storage facility and car parking area. 1.2 The Study Area 1.2.1 The site is situated on the north-west periphery of the village of Ashchurch. It is bounded to the east by the churchyard of St Nicholas’s Church, to the north and east by a railway line servicing the nearby St Barbara Army barracks, and to the south by the buildings and grounds of Church Farm. 1.2.2 The study area subject to the evaluation comprises a single paddock, currently under pasture, covering a total area of approximately 650m². 1.3 Geology and Topography 1.3.1 The underlying geology of the study area is mapped by the Geological Survey of Great Britain (England and Wales) (Sheet 216) as Quaternary River Terrace Deposits of the River Avon, consisting of sand and gravel. 1.3.2 The site is generally flat and lies at approximately 21m AOD. 4 Land at Church Farm, Ashchurch, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Watching Brief 1.4 Archaeological and Historical Background 1.4.1 The site is bounded to the east by the churchyard of St Nicholas’ Church. The church itself contains some original 12th-century fabric in its south wall, with phases of 13th, 14th and 15th-century re-building (Pevsner 1988). 1.4.2 Traces of Romano-British activity have been found in the surrounding area; at North Fiddington (NGR SO 9220 3310) 2nd-century ditches and a small cemetery were found, possibly on the periphery of the settlement located during the construction of the M5 motorway at NGR SO 9152 3283, approximately 1.2km south-west of the application site (Rawes 1992). 1.4.3 The evaluation carried out by CAT in March 2001 identified a number of medieval features possibly representing the establishment of a medieval field system contemporaneous with the construction of the adjacent St Nicholas’s Church, and the formalisation of the village layout in the 12th century (CAT 2001b). 1.5 Methodology 1.5.1 A detailed written scheme of investigation was prepared by Cotswold Archaeological Trust (CAT 2001a) and approved by Mr C Parry, Senior Archaeological Officer, Gloucestershire County Council. 1.5.2 The mechanical reduction of the development area and the subsequent excavation of a drainage trench and soakaway were carried out under archaeological observation. 1.5.3 The work was carried out in accordance with the Standard and Guidance for an Archaeological Watching Brief issued by the Institute of Field Archaeologists (IFA 1994) and the Statement of Standards and Practices appropriate for Archaeological Fieldwork in Gloucestershire issued by the Gloucestershire County Council Archaeology Section (1996). A full written, 5 Land at Church Farm, Ashchurch, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Watching Brief drawn and photographic record of the watching brief was compiled and all artefactual material was bagged and numbered with unique numbers relating to the context record. This was done in accordance with the CAT Technical Manual 3 Treatment of Finds Immediately after Excavation (1995). 1.5.4 The completed site archive and the finds, with the legal landowners’ consent, will be deposited with Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum under accession number 2001.41. 2. WATCHING BRIEF RESULTS 2.1 The ground reduction works 2.1.1 The development area was mechanically reduced by between 0.30m and 0.60m. Where the excavation penetrated the topsoil (601), it revealed subsoil layer (602), as previously identified in the evaluation, and also exposed limited areas of the underlying natural sand and gravel substrate (603). 2.1.2 A small sub-circular posthole [501], 0.25m in diameter, was identified in the south-eastern corner of the development area, cut into the natural substrate. It was 0.25m deep and contained a single fill (502) which was devoid of any artefactual material. 2.2 The drainage trench and soakaway 2.2.1 Following the construction of the storage building, a length of drainage trench with a 1.25m deep soakaway pit at its northern end was excavated adjacent to the north-eastern corner of the building (see Fig. 2). Excavation revealed the natural sand and gravel substrate (603) at a depth of 1m. 6 Land at Church Farm, Ashchurch, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Watching Brief 2.2.2 No archaeological features were encountered, and no artefactual material was recovered, during the excavation of the drainage trench and soakaway. 3. CONCLUSIONS 3.1 General 3.1.1 Although interpretation of the single posthole identified during the watching brief would be conjectural, the presence of such a feature may indicate that the medieval activity encountered during the evaluation is relatively concentrated and that it may include structural remains. 3.1.2 Only limited areas of natural substrate were revealed during the groundworks, therefore it is possible that further archaeological deposits exist in other parts of the development area where excavations did not reveal the natural horizon. 4. PROJECT TEAM AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The fieldwork was carried out by Mark Brett and Franco Vartuca.