LAND AT LAKE 10 COTSWOLD WATER PARK GLOUCESTERSHIRE …€¦ · of forty Fisherman’s Lodges. 1.2 The evaluation was carried out in accordance with a brief for archaeological recording

LAND AT LAKE 10 COTSWOLD WATER PARK

GLOUCESTERSHIRE

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVALUATION

CAT PROJECT: 1336 CAT REPORT: 02034

Author: Tim Havard

Approved:

Signed:

Simon Cox

…………………………………………………………….

Issue: 01 Date: APRIL 2002

This report is confidential to the client. Cotswold Archaeological Trust Ltd accepts no responsibility or liability to any third party to whom this report, or any part of it, is made known. Any such party relies upon this report entirely at their own risk. No part of this report may be reproduced by any means

without permission.

© Cotswold Archaeological Trust Ltd. Headquarters Building, Kemble Business Park, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 6BQ

Tel. 01285 771022 Fax. 01285 771033 E-mail:[email protected]

Land at Lake 10, Cotswold Water Park, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Evaluation © Cotswold Archaeological Trust

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ............................................................................................... 2

SUMMARY........................................................................................................................3

1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 4

The site ................................................................................................................ 4

Archaeological background.................................................................................. 4

Archaeological objectives .................................................................................... 5

Methodology ........................................................................................................ 5

2. RESULTS ............................................................................................................ 6

Trench 1............................................................................................................... 6

Trench 2............................................................................................................... 6

Trench 3............................................................................................................... 6

Trench 4............................................................................................................... 7

Trench 5............................................................................................................... 7

Trench 6............................................................................................................... 7

The Finds ............................................................................................................. 8

3. DISCUSSION....................................................................................................... 8

Conclusions ......................................................................................................... 8

4. CAT PROJECT TEAM ......................................................................................... 9

5. REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 9

APPENDIX 1: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS..................................................................... 10

APPENDIX 2: LEVELS OF PRINCIPAL DEPOSITS AND STRUCTURES...................... 12

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure 1 Site Location Plan............................................................................................13

Figure 2 Trench Location Plan.......................................................................................14

Figure 3 Trench 3 Plan and Sections.............................................................................15



2


SUMMARY

Site Name: Land at Lake 10

Site Code: LTC 02

Location: Ashton Keynes, Gloucestershire

NGR: SU 0688 9610

Type: Evaluation

Date: 15th to 17th April 2002

Planning Reference: 00000000

Location of Archive: Corinium Museum, Cirencester

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeological Trust in April

2002 at the request of DPDS (on the behalf of Mr Colin Smith) at Lake 10, Cotswold Water

Park, Gloucestershire. In compliance with an approved project design, a total of 6 trenches

were excavated across the development area.

Two undated gullies and two undated ditches were encountered during the course of the

project.

The evaluation has characterised the archaeological potential of the study area, and has

indicated that undated archaeological features survive at a depth of 0.4m to 0.55m below the

modern ground surface.

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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 In April 2002 Cotswold Archaeological Trust (CAT) carried out an archaeological

evaluation for DPDS (on behalf of Mr Colin Smith) at Lake 10, Cotswold Water Park,

Ashton Keynes, Gloucestershire (centred on NGR: SU 0668 9610, Fig. 1). The

evaluation was undertaken to accompany a planning application for the construction

of forty Fisherman’s Lodges.

1.2 The evaluation was carried out in accordance with a brief for archaeological

recording prepared by Mr Charles Parry, Senior Archaeological Officer,

Gloucestershire County Council the archaeological advisors to the Local Planning

Authority (LPA), and with a subsequent detailed project specification produced by

CAT (2002) and approved by Mr Charles Parry. The fieldwork also followed the

Standard and Guidance for Archaeological Field Evaluations issued by the Institute

of Field Archaeologists (1999) and the Statement of Standards and Practices for

Archaeological Fieldwork in Gloucestershire (GCC 1995).

The site

1.3 The site lies to the south of the crossroads between the B4696 and Station

Road/Cerney Wick Lane. (Fig. 2). The site lies at approximately 85m AOD.

1.4 The underlying geology of the area is mapped as Oxford Clay of the Jurassic Era

and First Terrace River Gravels of the Pleistocene by the Geological Survey of

Great Britain (England and Wales) sheet 252.

1.5 The site comprises land around the southern and eastern edges of Lake 10, a

former gravel pit flooded to form part of the Cotswold Water Park. The majority of

the site currently consists of rough grassland.

Archaeological background

1.6 Archaeological interest in the site arises from the well attested intensive occupation

of the area in the prehistoric and Romano-British periods. Much of this is evidenced

by aerial photographic coverage held by the NMR and recorded on the

Gloucestershire SMR. Enclosures and linear features at NGR SU 0685 9665, some

4


50m to the north of the development area, are recorded as probable post-medieval

field ditches, although these have now been quarried away (SMR 3045). Linear

features were also recorded from aerial photographs some 50m to the north-east at

NGR SU 0700 9650 (SMR 3130). The SMR also records an ovate Acheulian hand

Axe recovered from a gravel pit 80m to the north-west (SMR 3378). An undated

settlement comprising a trackway, enclosures and ring ditch is recorded some 1.5km

to the north around Sister’s Farm at NGR SU 0630 9760 (Leech 1977). Undated

linear features and a ring ditch are recorded 1.2km to the north-east at NGR SU

0770 9680, and rectangular enclosures, trackways and a ring ditch and linear

features are also recorded 1.5km to the east-south-east at NGR SU 0850 9580

(ibid).

Archaeological objectives

1.7 The objectives of the evaluation were to establish the character, quality, date,

significance and extent of any archaeological remains or deposits surviving within

the site. This information will assist the Local Planning Authority in making an

informed judgement on the likely impact upon the archaeological resource by the

proposed development.

Methodology

1.8 The fieldwork comprised the excavation of 6 trenches each measuring 1.8m in width

and totalling 220m in length. The position of trench 5 was altered slightly, to avoid a

public footpath, with the approval of Mr Charles Parry.

1.9 All trenches were excavated by mechanical excavator equipped with a toothless

grading bucket. All machine excavation was undertaken under constant

archaeological supervision to the top of the first significant archaeological horizon or

the natural substrate, whichever was encountered first. Where archaeological

deposits were encountered they were excavated by hand in accordance with the

CAT Technical Manual 1: Excavation Recording Manual (1996).

1.10 Deposits were assessed for their palaeoenvironmental potential and, where

appropriate, sampled and processed in accordance with the CAT Technical Manual

2: The Taking of Samples for Palaeoenvironmental/Palaeoeconomic Analysis from

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Archaeological Sites (1994). All artefacts recovered were processed in accordance

with the CAT Technical Manual 3: Treatment of Finds Immediately After Excavation

(1995).

1.11 The archive and artefacts from the evaluation are currently held by CAT at their

offices in Kemble. Subject to the agreement of the legal landowner the site archive

(including artefacts) will be deposited with Corinium Museum, Cirencester.

2. RESULTS

2.1 The trenches were located to provide a random coverage of the proposed

development area. It was evident during machining that the area in which trenches 1

and 2 were located had previously been stripped of topsoil and subsoil down to the

underlying natural gravels and then a thin layer of turf/topsoil later re-laid over this.

2.2 This section provides an overview of the evaluation results; detailed summaries of

the recorded contexts are to be found in Appendix 1. Details of the relative heights

of the principal deposits and features expressed as metres above Ordnance Datum

(m AOD) appear in Appendix 2.

Trench 1

2.3 Trench 1 measured 30m in length. No archaeological features, deposits or finds

were observed within the trench.

Trench 2



Trench 3

2.5 Trench 3 measured 50m in length.

6


2.5.1 A shallow ditch 304 was located at the south-west end of trench 3. It contained a

single dark brown silty clay fill 305. This was fully excavated within the trench but no

finds were recovered. It was sealed by subsoil 302.

2.5.2 A possible ditch terminal 308 lay towards the centre of trench 3. This had steeply

sloping sides leading to a concave base. It appeared to have been deliberately

backfilled with a single gravely fill 309. This was fully excavated within the trench but

no finds were recovered. It was sealed by subsoil 302.

Trench 4



Trench 5

2.7.1 Trench 5 measured 30m in length.

2.7.2 Two shallow pits, 506 and 508, lay at the north-west end of trench 5. These both

contained a single mid grey brown silty clay fill (507 and 509 respectively). Both

features were fully excavated within the trench but no finds were recovered.

2.7.3 The two above features were both cut by gully 504. This measured 0.1m in depth

and had moderately sloped sides leading to a concave base. It contained a single

dark grey brown silty clay fill 505. This was fully excavated within trench 5 but no

finds were recovered.

2.7.4 A possible tree bole 514 showing signs of burning was located towards the centre of

trench 5. This was fully excavated but no finds were recovered.

2.7.5 All finds within trench 5 were sealed by subsoil 502.

Trench 6

2.8.1 Trench 6 measured 30m in length.

7


2.8.2 Gully 606 lay at the south-western end of trench the trench. It measured 0.05m in

depth and had moderately sloped sides leading to a concave base. It contained a

single mid grey brown silty clay fill 607. This feature was fully excavated within the

trench but no finds were recovered. No relationship between this gully and an

adjacent tree bole 608 could be established due to the shallow depth of deposits.

The Finds

2.9 No finds, either unstratified or from specific contexts were recovered during the

course of the project.

3. DISCUSSION

3.1 The interpretation of features recorded during the evaluation is hampered by the

lack of artefactual evidence recovered.

3.2 The position of ditch 304 roughly parallel to the existing field boundary suggests it

may represent an earlier boundary. A greater length of this feature would need to be

exposed to confirm this.

3.3 Ditch 308 appears to have been deliberately backfilled, but any further interpretation

remains problematical without dating evidence and further investigation.

3.4 Gully 504 is similar in form to gully 606 and may in fact be the same feature running

between trenches 5 and 6. However it is not possible to establish this without further

investigation.

Conclusions

3.5 The evaluation has shown that archaeological remains do survive within the

proposed development area though without any dating evidence it is not possible to

comment further on their significance.

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4. CAT PROJECT TEAM

Fieldwork was undertaken by Tim Havard, assisted by Kate Cullen, Sam Inder and Michael

Rowe. The report was written by Tim Havard. The illustrations were prepared by Pete

Moore. The archive has been compiled by Tim Havard, and prepared for deposition by Ed

McSloy. The project was managed for CAT by Simon Cox.

5. REFERENCES

CAT 2002 Land at Lake 10, Cotswold Water Park, Gloucestershire: Project Design for an

Archaeological Evaluation.

Leech, R 1977 Archaeological Survey of the River Gravels: The Thames Upper

Valley in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

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APPENDIX 1: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS

Trench 1 Present Ground Level: 84.29m to 84.56m AOD 101 Topsoil: dark brown silty clay with occasional irregular limestone fragments, 0.06m to 0.1m in

depth. Seals 102. 102 Subsoil: mid yellow brown silty clay with frequent gravel inclusions 0.15m to 0.25m in depth. 103 Natural: mid orange brown gravel with occasional patches of brown sandy clay. 104 Cut for modern disturbance: sub-circular in plan, gently sloped irregular sides leading to an

irregular base, 0.38m in length, 0.3m in width and 0.06m in depth. 105 Single fill of 104: dark brown silty clay.

Trench 2 Present Ground Level: 84.36m to 84.62m AOD 201 Topsoil: dark brown silty clay with occasional irregular limestone fragments, 0.06m to 0.15m in

depth. Seals 202. 202 Subsoil: light brown silty clay with frequent gravel inclusions, 0.08 to 0.12m in depth. Seals

203. 203 Intermittent lens of dark brown silty clay with occasional gravel inclusions, maximum depth of

0.05m. Overlies 204. 204 Natural: mid orange brown gravels with occasional patches of sandy clay. Trench 3 Present Ground Level: 84.19m to 84.98m 301 Topsoil: dark grey silty clay with occasional irregular stone inclusions, 0.1m to 0.15m in depth.

Overlies 302. 302 Subsoil: mid orange brown silty clay, 0.3m to 0.4m in depth. 303 Natural: light yellow sandy gravels with frequent patches of blue-grey clay. 304 Cut for ditch: linear in plan aligned SE-NW, gently sloped regular sides leading to a flat base,

2.4m in width, 0.15m in depth and at least 1.8m in length. 305 Single fill of 304: dark brown silty clay with occasional gravel and irregular stone inclusions. 306 Cut for possible tree bole: irregular in plan, irregular sides leading to an irregular base, 0.4m in

width, 0.1m in depth and at least 1.35m in length. 307 Single fill of 306: mid brown silty clay with frequent irregular stone inclusions. 308 Cut for ditch terminus: linear in plan aligned N-S, steeply sloped sides leading to a concave

base, 0.75m in width, 0.3m in depth and at least 2.7m in length. 309 Single fill of 308: 50% sandy gravel mixed with 50% mid yellow brown silty clay. 310 Cut for possible tree bole: irregular in plan, irregular sides leading to an irregular base, 1.75m

in length, 0.9m in width and 0.25m in depth. 311 Single fill of 310: dark orange brown silty clay with occasional gravel inclusions. 312 Cut for modern disturbance: linear in plan, aligned NE-SW, 9.5m in length, 0.7m in width and

c0.7m in depth, seen cutting through 301. 313 Single fill of 312: dark brown silty clay with occasional gravel inclusions. Trench 4 Present Ground Level: 84.06m to 84.29m 401 Topsoil: mid brown grey sandy clay, 0.1m to 0.26m in depth. Overlies 402. 402 Subsoil: mid brown silty clay, 0.05 to 0.13m in depth. 403 Natural: mid orange brown clay with patches of yellow gravel and blue grey clay. 404 Single fill of 405: dark grey brown silty clay with heavy manganese flecking. 405 Cut for possible tree bole: irregular in plan, irregular sides leading to an irregular base, 0.6m in

length, 0.4m in depth and 0.05m in depth.

10

Land at Lake 10, Cotswold Water Park, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Evaluation

11

© Cotswold Archaeological Trust

Trench 5 Present Ground Level: 83.92m to 83.96m 501 Topsoil: dark grey brown silty clay, 0.12m to 0.21m in depth. Overlies 502. 502 Subsoil: mid orange brown silty clay, 0.1m to 0.2m in depth. 503 Natural: light yellow sandy gravel with occasional patches of blue-grey clay. 504 Cut for gully: linear in plan aligned N-S, moderately sloped sides leading to a concave base,

0.3m in width, 0.18m in depth and at least 2.5m in length. Cuts 506/507 and 508/509. 505 Single fill of 504: dark grey brown silty clay with occasional small gravel inclusions. 506 Cut for shallow pit: sub-oval in plan, gently sloped sides leading to a flat base, 1.5m in length,

0.8m in width and 0.08m in depth. 507 Single fill of 506: mid grey brown silty clay. 508 Cut for shallow pit, sub-oval in plan, uneven sides leading to an uneven base, 0.95m in length,

0.4m in width and 0.05m in depth. 509 Single fill of 509: mid grey brown silty clay. 510 Cut from tree roots, irregular in form. 511 Single fill of 510: dark brown grey clay silt. 512 Cut from tree roots: irregular in form. 513 Single fill of 512: dark brown grey clay silt. 514 Cut for tree bole: sub-circular in plan, steeply sloped irregular sides leading to an irregular

base, 0.9m in length, 0.62m in width and 0.2m in depth. 515 Single fill of 514: mid brown silty clay with some signs of burning.

Trench 6 Present Ground Level: 83.77m to 83.85m 601 Topsoil: dark brown grey humic clay silt, 0.15m to 0.2m in depth. 602 Subsoil: mid to dark brown silty clay, 0.1m to 0.2m in depth. 603 Natural: mid yellow grey sandy gravel with occasional patches of grey clay. 604 Cut for modern feature: linear in plan, aligned NW-SE, gently sloped irregular sides leading to

an uneven base, 2m in width, 0.42m in depth and at least 1.8m in length. Cuts 301. 605 Single fill of 604: mid grey brown humic clay silt with patches of re-deposited natural clay and

sandy gravel. 606 Cut for gully: linear in plan, aligned N-S, moderately sloped slightly concave sides leading to a

concave base, 0.3m in width, 0.05m in depth and at least 2.5m in length. 607 Single fill of 606: mid grey brown silty clay with very occasional gravel inclusions. 608 Cut for tree bole: sub-circular in plan, shallow sloped sides leading to an irregular base, 1m in

length, 0.6m in width and 0.05m in depth. 609 Single fill of 608: light to mid grey brown silty clay.


APPENDIX 2: LEVELS OF PRINCIPAL DEPOSITS AND STRUCTURES

Levels are expressed as metres above Ordnance Datum. Context No. OD Height of Top of Feature 304 83.74 306 83.70 308 83.76 310 83.72 504 83.57 506 83.56 508 83.60 514 83.54 606 83.40 608 83.40

12


Figure 1 Site Location Plan

13


Figure 2 Trench Location Plan

14


Figure 3 Trench 3 Plan and Sections

15



16

Land at Lake 10, Cotswold Water Park, Gloucestershire: Archaeological Evaluation

17

© Cotswold Archaeological Trust


Site

Fig. 1 Location plan

Clubhouse

Lake 101

2

5

3

4

6

962

963

961

960

067 068

N

0 100m

Evaluation trench

Archaeological features

Fig. 2 Trench location plan

SU

Fielddrain

?Tree-bole306

Ditch308

?Tree-bole310 Trench

continues23.5m

309

Ditch308

Trench continues

1m

Trench continues

46m

0 1m

0 1m

Section 2

Section 1

Section 2

Section 1

Fig. 3 Trench 3; plan and sections

Trench 3

0 10m

N

W E83.50m

AOD

NE SW50.00m

AOD

Ditch305

Topsoil 301

Subsoil 302

305Ditch304

Pit506

Gully504

Pit508

?Tree-bole514

N

W E83.50m

AOD

505

Gully504

W E83.50m

AOD

507

Pit506

0 1m

0 1m

0 10m

Section 3

Section 4

Section 3

Section 4

Fig. 4 Trench 5; plan and sections

Trench continues

8.5m

Trench 5

607

Gully606

W E83.50m

AOD

Tree-bole608

Gully606

N

0 10m

0 1m

Trench 6

Section 5

Section 5

Fig. 5 Trench 6; plan and section

Trench continues

20m

Documents

LAND AT LAKE 10 COTSWOLD WATER PARK GLOUCESTERSHIRE …€¦ · of forty Fisherman’s Lodges. 1.2 The evaluation was carried out in accordance with a brief for archaeological recording