Medieval occupation at the rear of 41-47 Lower Cippenham Lane, Cippenham, Slough, Berkshire Draft publication report for Ambleland Limited by Andy Taylor Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd Site Code LCS 06/112 List of Figures Figure 1 Location of site in Berkshire and Slough, showing previous work in the area. Figure 2 Detailed location of site off Lower Cippenham Lane, showing evaluation trenches. Figure 3 Plan of excavated area. Figure 4 Selected sections (1) Figure 5 Selected sections (2) Figure 6 Selected sections (3) Figure 7 Selected sections (4) Figure 8 Pottery; see text for details. List of Plates Plate 1 Pit 107 Plate 2 Ditch 502 Plate 3 Pit 209 Plate 4 Pit 205 Plate 5 Ditches 507 and 509 Plate 6 Ditch 510 Medeival occupation at the rear of 41-47 Lower Cippenham Lane, Cippenham, Slough, Berkshire An Archaeological Excavation by Andy Taylor With contributions by Paul Blinkhorn, Ceri Falys, Steve Ford and Mark Robinson Report 06/112b Summary An open area excavation, prior to the construction of new housing on the site, identified an unexpectedly complex series of ditches and gullies forming enclosures and a possible trackway as well as a number of pits and postholes, all dating to a short span in the 12th to 13th centuries. The deposits probably relate to one or more properties fronting Lower Cippenham Lane. Analysis of charred plant remains indicates an emphasis on the production of rye which contrasts with the results of another excavated site in the hamlet and hints at the possibility of crop specializtation. The report considers whether abandonment of the settlement in the late 12th century is related to construction of the nearby deer park, first recorded in the 13th century. Prehistoric flint flakes and sherds of Roman pottery indicate a low level of earlier activity on the site. Introduction This report documents the results of an archaeological excavation carried out at 41–47 Lower Cippenham Lane, Cippenham, Slough, Berkshire (SU 9505 8020) (Fig. 1). The work was commissioned by Mr Peter Walsh of Ambleland Limited, 144 Lower Cippenham Lane, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 5EA. Planning permission (P/13448/000) has been granted by Slough Borough Council for the construction of new housing on the site. The consent is subject to a condition (8) relating to archaeology which prompted the programme of work described below. The excavation was carried out to a specification approved by Ms Mary O’Donoghue, Archaeology Officer with Berkshire Archaeology, advisers to the council on matters relating to archaeology, and was monitored by her on behalf of the council. The work took place between the 4th and 20th March 2009, and was supervised by the author. The site code is LCS 06/112. The archive is currently held by Thames Valley Archaeological Services, 47-49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading, RG1 5NR and will deposited with Reading Museum in due course (accession code REDMG:2009.98). 1 Topography and geology The site is located on an irregular parcel of land on the south side of Lower Cippenham Lane, Cippenham, Slough, Berkshire (Fig. 2). The site is largely open space in the back gardens of numbers 41–47 with access from the now demolished 41 Lower Cippenham Lane. It is bounded by houses to the north, east and west with a stream to the south. According to the British Geological Survey the underlying geology comprises Taplow gravel (BGS 2005), however brickearth was encountered across the excavation area. The site lies at a height of approximately 22m above Ordnance Datum. Archaeological background The archaeological potential of the site was highlighted in a brief prepared by Mr David Thomason, formerly of Berkshire Archaeology and this was subsequently augmented by the results of field evaluation (Taylor 2009). In summary the site lies in an area fairly rich in archaeological deposits, although relatively little explored until recently (Ford 1987a). Extensive excavations took place immediately to the west of the site prior to development of earlier phases of the ‘Cippenham Sector’ in 1995-7, which examined a wide range of deposits of prehistoric, Roman and medieval dates (Ford et al. 2003). These finds included Neolithic and Bronze Age occupation, a Bronze Age ring ditch (levelled burial mound), Iron Age and Roman enclosures and field systems and part of the medieval village of Cippenham. A Roman site has also been excavated to the north (Howell and Durden 2003). To the south, evaluation trenching revealed a small number of poorly dated field boundaries (Ford 1996; Rawlings and Ford 2003) with prehistoric occupation and Roman landscape features beyond (Taylor 2007 and in prep). To the west of the site is what is considered to be a medieval moat, though the status of this monument is unclear. Further south on Wood Lane is Cippenham moat, which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, likely to be the site of the manor first mentioned as belonging to Richard, Earl of Cornwall in the 13th century, but probably with earlier origins. Field evaluation on the site itself (Taylor 2009) confirmed its archaeological potential, with the finding of a range of ditches and gullies of medieval date along with as yet undated examples. As a result, full excavation was required in order to satisfy the condition on the planning consent. 2 The Excavation The excavation covered a single area of 1335 sq m and identified a series of linear features most likely comprising parts of enclosures and a part of a possible trackway (Fig. 3). A number of pits and postholes were also identified. Ditches Ditch 500 was aligned approximately NE–SW. It terminated at its south-western end and continued outside the excavation area to the north-east. A total of five slots (101, 102, 103, 105, 129 and 131) were dug across it measuring 0.60m wide and between 0.15m and 0.35m deep. It did not contain any dating evidence. This ditch cut ditch 502 and ditch 503. Its relationship with ditch 501 was not clear. Ditch 501 was aligned approximately NE–SW. Five slots (108, 123, 125, 128 and 130) ( slots one and four were dug in the evaluation phase) were dug along its length measuring between 0.70m and 0.95m wide and between 0.25m and 0.30m deep. No dating evidence was recovered during the excavation although one sherd of medieval pottery was recovered from slot one during the evaluation. Its relationships with ditches 500, 502 and 503 were all unclear. Slot 126 may also be part of this feature, although unfortunately this cannot be certain, and this contained only a single large sherd of Roman pottery. As all the other Roman pottery from the site was from medieval features, it is unclear if this single sherd can date this slot, much less the ditch as a whole. Ditch 502 was aligned approximately NW–SE and terminated at its south-eastern end. Six slots (100, 124, 136, 137, 139 and 141) as well as slot two in the evaluation were dug along its length measuring between 0.45m and 0.88m wide and between 0.17m and 0.37m deep. Slot 136 contained a single sherd of 12th-century pottery. This ditch was cut by ditches 500 and cut ditch 505. Its relationship with ditch 501 was unclear. Ditch 503 was aligned approximately NW–SE and terminated at its south-eastern end. Four slots (104, 108, 121 and 138) were dug along its length measuring 0.95m wide and between 0.14m and 0.40m deep. It was cut ditch 500 and its relationship with ditch 501 was unclear. Terminal 138 contained one piece of bone but no dating evidence was retrieved. It is possible that this linear continues as ditch 507. Gully 504 was aligned approximately NW–SE, just north of 503. Five slots (122, 146, 221, 232 and 241) were dug along its length measuring between 0.39m and 0.75m wide and between 0.09m and 0.20m deep. Slot 122 contained a single flint flake and slot 146 contained a single sherd of 12th-century pottery. Ditch 505 was aligned NE–SW. Six slots (140, 142, 208, 215, 220, 224) (slot nine was dug across it during the evaluation measuring between 0.79m and 1.23m wide and between 0.10m and 0.35m deep. Slots 208, 215 3 and 220 contained six, 69 and four sherds of 12th-century pottery respectively. Slot nine from the evaluation contained 169 pieces of medieval pottery. This ditch cut ditches 502 and 504 and in turn was cut by gully 508. Gully 506 was aligned approximately NE–SW. Two slots (143 and 144) were dug along its length measuring 0.50m wide and between 0.14m and 0.20m deep. This gully cut ditch 507 but did not contain any dating evidence. Ditch 507 was aligned approximately NW–SE. Four slots (145, 223, 226 and 235) were dug along its length measuring 1.00m wide and between 0.14m and 0.27m deep. It was cut by gully 506 and ditch 510 and cut gully 509. It did not contain any dating evidence. This is possibly a continuation of ditch 503. Gully 508 was aligned approximately North-South. Two slots (225 and 236) as well as evaluation slot five were dug across it measuring 0.36m wide and between 0.10m and 0.22m deep. Slot 236 contained ten sherds of 12th-century pottery, and slot five contained two medieval pottery sherds. This gully cut ditch 505, but did not extend beyond it to the south. Modern disturbance truncated the northern end of this feature. Gully 509 was aligned approximately NE–SW.