ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVALUATION - Mike Griffiths and Associates

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8.0 EVALUATION EXCAVATION
The trial trench excavation programme was carried out in three phases. The first phase consisted of four 100m
x 4m trenches and three 50m x 4m trenches, and was undertaken in Zone D during March 2004. The second
phase involved the hand-excavation of nine trenches in Zone C during April 2004. The final phase comprised
ten 100m x 4m trenches, two 50m x 8m trenches and seven 50m x 4m trenches in Zones A, B, and E. This
fieldwork was carried out between August 2004 and October 2004 (Figure 36).
While the trenching regime was designed to provide an adequate coverage of the area of investigation, cropmark
features, lithic concentrations and anomalies identified by the geophysical surveys were targeted with trenches
for further investigation. The evaluation excavation programme provides a 2% excavation sample of the
application area. The use of long rectangular trenches on mixed orientations was adopted to improve the
probability of intersecting boundary features.
8.1 FIELDWORK PROCEDURE
The corners of the trenches were set out using a total station
theodolite. The edges of the trenches were then marked.
Ploughsoil and topsoil deposits were excavated using a tracked
mechanical excavator fitted with a broad toothless ditching
bucket under strict archaeological supervision (Plate 5). Areas
which were considered to contain possible features were handcleaned
to improve definition.
Nine hand-excavated trenches (Interventions 14 to 22) were
Plate 5 Machining of an evaluation trench
positioned to investigate the lithic concentration defined by
fieldwalking in Zone C, in order to test for the presence of a lithic assemblage within the ploughsoil and whether
any such distribution related to plough-damaged features. In each trench, a series of test pits were initially
excavated (see section 7.1), and the remaining ploughsoil was then removed by hand down to the top of the
natural subsoil. The entire trench was then hand-cleaned. This was undertaken to ensure that the significance
of any lithic distribution within the ploughsoil was fully appreciated prior to the disturbance of larger areas of
ploughsoil by machine excavated evaluation trenches (see section 7.2).
All features were hand cleaned to improve definition and facilitate recording. An appropriate sample of the
feature was then established and excavated. In most cases, small isolated features were half-sectioned; however,
when these features were considered to be significant and would not survive backfilling, the entire feature was
excavated. Written, drawn and photographic records were made of all archaeological deposits.
The recording system followed Field Research Procedure (Carver 1999), the standard operating system
employed by FAS. A single index was maintained for contexts and for features, which continued from those
context and feature numbers allocated during Phase 1 evaluation. A checklist of records created during
excavation, which form the content of the archive, is given below (Appendix D); context and feature record
summaries form Appendix E.
FIELD ARCHAEOLOGY SPECIALISTS