SNN73975 - Brackmills Extension and Employment Sites: Desktop Study and Archaeological Field Evaluation, 1996

Desk-based study of a proposed development site identified that probable Neolithic flints, Iron Age pottery, Romano-British pottery, ridge and furrow, an undated hollow way and cropmarks representing a complex of Iron Age or Romano-British enclosure ditches had been recorded at the site. Romano-British pottery and animal bones, apparently lying on a stone floor, had been discovered during quarrying at the site in the 19th century. Further sites and findspots of prehistoric to post-medieval date had been recorded in the surrounding area, including 1st century AD pottery kilns, probable 7th century inhumations and medieval settlement evidence. Geophysical survey of the site identified anomalies of potential archaeological interest, but subsequent trial trenching revealed that the majority of the features likely to be affected by the development had apparently been truncated or completely destroyed by deep ploughing. Only one undated enclosure, under pasture at the time of the investigation, appeared to be well-preserved. Small amounts of Romano-British and post-medieval pottery were recovered.