ENN110320 - Copse Lodge Solar Farm, 2021 (Trial trench)

{1} Trial trench excavation of c103ha of land to support a planning application for the creation of a solar farm comprising 95 trenches. This evaluation has revealed that archaeological remains were recorded in a small number of trenches, mainly in the south-east and north-west of the site. The human adult burial (SK2) found in trench 47 is from at least the Roman period, due to the Roman pottery found within the layer (4710) overlying the feature (4709) the burial was laid in. This and the other features, two of which contained Roman pottery, recorded in the trench are clearly associated with the large Iron Age and/or Roman settlement identified by the geophysics survey immediately south-east of the site. This is located outside of the proposed development area for the solar farm; therefore, it will not be impacted by the development. The pit (2203) in trench 22, located in the northwest of the site, revealed a number of fragments of fired clay, which may have been part of a former oven lining, although there was nothing to suggest a date or location for the possible oven. Likewise, the small ditch or gully (2003) in the nearby trench 20 was also undated.