SNN112146 - Land at Appletree Industrial Estate, Appletree Road, Chipping Warden, Northamptonshire: An Archaeological Evaluation

Pre-Construct Archaeology was commissioned by Ramac Holdings (Trading) Ltd to undertake an archaeological evaluation at Appletree Industrial Estate. The investigations were required to investigate the potential for archaeological remains ahead of the redevelopment of the site comprising the construction of temporary hardstanding ahead of the existing being removed as part of the HS2 route, for which planning permission has been granted by South Northamptonshire Council. The results from the archaeological evaluation trial trenching recorded a basic profile of the natural substrate sealed by subsoil capped with plough soil and in one instance (Trench 4) made ground and hardstanding. Three trenches (Trenches, 1, 4 and 8) were entirely devoid of features, whilst a number of shallow linear features recoded across the area on two orientations were interpreted as agricultural furrows. A number of sub-circular features were recorded, often notable by the increased manganese and iron panning within them. The appearance of these features, together with the absence of finds or inclusions within any of their fills, suggested that they were likely to be natural in origin. The finds assemblage recovered from the site was restricted to a small amount of late post-medieval/modern material recovered from the plough soil in Trenches 7 & 8.