ENN110260 - Bickerstaffes Rd/Water Lane, 2021 (Strip, map and sample)

The topsoil/overburden was removed in level spits using a 360º excavator equipped with a toothless bucket, under the constant supervision and instruction of the monitoring archaeologist. Machine excavation proceeded in level spits until the archaeological horizon or the natural geology was exposed. The excavation area forms a continuous area but due to the small nature of the site it was necessary to undertake excavation in two halves. During the excavation of the second half a previously unknown service was encountered that necessitated a third phase of excavation under controlled circumstances. The majority of the archaeological remains was Romano-British in date and comprised ditches, pits, gullies, occupational deposits, a stone surface and a stone-lined well. The period was divided into three phases of activity, through pottery dating and stratigraphic relationships. The earliest phase represented initial occupation on the site through a layer and two pits. Finds recovered from these features dated them to the mid-1st–2nd century. The second phase represented the peak of activity on the site and comprised two large boundary ditches, gullies, pits, a stone surface/foundation and the well. The finds and features showed the site was part of a settlement, with potentially a stone-built building and backyard industrial activity dating to the 2nd century. The third and final Romano-British phase dated to the 3rd–4th centuries and represented the ending of the settlement and the enclosure of the site. This is shown in the regulating and subdivision of the earlier plots, with additional ditches and realignment of the northern boundary, a large reduction in the number of features, the backfilling of the well and the disuse of the stone structure at the south end of the site. Other remains on site include postholes that contained a small sherd of possible early Saxon pottery, a medieval pit, a series of medieval/post-medieval deposits, modern features and a number of undated pits. [Information from OASIS online form]