Wessex Archaeology Research Articles

Prehistoric Landscape Development and Romano-British Farming near Rossington, South Yorkshire

In 2016–2017 Wessex Archaeology undertook excavations between Rossington and Doncaster in South Yorkshire prior to the development of a strategic rail freight interchange. The earliest evidence related to peat formation within two different parts of the site, with a pair of sequences radiocarbon dated to between the Mesolithic period and the Bronze Age. Pollen preserved within the peat provides evidence for woodland development over this period, with no clear signs of any contemporary human impacts on the palynological record. The majority of the archaeological evidence relates to the Romano-British period, when the site contained settlement/farming enclosures and fields used for grazing and cultivation. Archeologically detectable activity was focussed on the enclosures; a stone-built ‘T’-shaped crop-dryer reveals malt production was undertaken in one. The animal bone is relatively informative when compared to regional norms and this evidence, which is accompanied by the results of the analysis of organic residues within the pottery assemblage, suggests a husbandry strategy focussed on cattle carcase products, with some dairying. Charcoal evidence and charred/waterlogged plant remains reveal further information on the agricultural economy of the site including aspects such as crops grown, fuel use and the local environment. The finds assemblage from the site is also relatively rich for the area; such a reasonable degree of integration with the economy of the wider Roman province may have been facilitated by the close proximity of a villa at Stancil.

In the shadow of the Lammermuirs

Wessex Archaeology completed archaeological investigations on the Onshore Transmission Works for the Neart na Gaoithe Offshore Wind Farm between 2015 and 2021. These included geophysical survey, evaluation trenching, targeted strip, map and sample excavations, and watching briefs on the cable route and associated infrastructure between the landfall at Thorntonloch and the grid connection at Crystal Rig II Wind Farm, both in East Lothian. The investigations found that few archaeological features were present within the section of the cable route within the coastal plain between Thorntonloch and Innerwick, and within the upland area approaching Crystal Rig (excluding the medieval township of Boonslie). Features relating to a wide range of periods, dominated by the prehistoric, were found within the transitional zone to the south-west of Innerwick between the Lammermuir foothills and the coastal plain. These included an Early Neolithic pit cluster and possible trackway, pits dated to the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, and a Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age pit alignment. Within the immediate area of the pit alignment there was also evidence for later Iron Age and early medieval occupation. The cable route was designed to avoid the extant remains of Boonslie, an upland medieval township around the headwaters of the Boonslie Burn, but some previously undetected earthworks were uncovered and investigated, as well as the earliest dated feature found in the works: a pit containing burnt material dating to the Mesolithic. The excavations also uncovered evidence for the deliberate landscaping of agricultural fields during the post-medieval and modern period to give a greater area of cultivatable terrain.

Soil and spatial analyses in the assessment of the focal point of the extinct medieval royal burgh of Roxburgh

The ‘lost’ royal burgh of Roxburgh in the Scottish borders is arguably one of the most important archaeological settlement sites in Scotland of the medieval period. Although short-lived, being occupied as an urban centre for just around 300 years, in its heyday, it was a royal residence, jurisdictional and administrative seat, and regional focus of economic activity and international trade. Presently however, very little surviving above-ground trace remains of this once dynamic settlement. With a Scheduled Monument status (No. 4284), activity on-site is now restricted to prevent damage to the below-ground archaeology. This study explores the locale(s) of Roxburgh’s main thoroughfare in the Friars’ Haugh area during its occupation through the spatial analysis of soil data coupled with historical records and findings from past research studies. The aim of the study is two-fold; (1) to determine the viability in the investigation of archaeological landscapes of standard, relatively non-invasive low-cost analytical techniques applied in the study, as permissible on sites with Scheduled Monument status, (2) in synergy with previous geophysical, and geoarchaeological studies carried out on the site, provide new evidence and/or corroborate the existing knowledge base in advancing the discourse on the history and development of Roxburgh. The study area encompasses the putative location of the main street as identified in a previous study by GSB Prospection and Wessex Archaeology. Suites of soil markers (phosphorus concentration, magnetic susceptibility, organic carbon content, and soil pH), were used to demarcate zones of high to low activity through quantitative changes in the concentration and/or value of these markers. Potable optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) analysis was used to investigate depositional history that revealed a progressive accumulation of materials of proximal origins, however, evidence of mixing of sediments is discernible. The spatial distribution of soil markers across the site shows two zones of substantial enhancement, revealing potentially a second thoroughfare on the west of the site (site B), in addition to the main thoroughfare on site A which overlaps with the site identified in previous studies.

Hollis Croft, Sheffield, South Yorkshire: Old site and new connections

In 2017, a team from the Wessex Archaeology Sheffield office investigated a site, Hollis Croft (NGR 434990 387580), prior to the construction of a multi-million pound commercial and student housing development. Hollis Croft is one of many Sheffield’s sites where well-preserved industrial archaeology survives beneath the modern buildings. Historic building recording was followed by a watching brief, a scheme of archaeological evaluation trenching and then strip, map and sample excavations, which revealed substantial 18th-/19th-century remains of steel conversion furnaces (both cementation and crucible, constructed by Burgin and Wells and W. Fearnehough Ltd respectively). We also discovered metres of entwined brick-built flues (likely related to later steelmaking methods such as the Siemens-Martin open hearth process or Bessemer process), traces of two pubs (The Cock and The Orange Branch) and a wide range of finds – all indicative of the industrial processes and the everyday lives of the workers. Apart from the discovery of a crozzle layer covering the entire interior of the furnace (not just its base as previously thought), and the detailed impressions of the ferrous bars visible in the surface of the crozzle layer, the remains were very familiar for Sheffield and industrial archaeology. The post-excavation processes were carried out as usual following industry standards. All our findings have been brought together in a final report held in the digital archive and the physical archive (including the finds) was subsequently deposited with Museums Sheffield under SHEFM:2019.13 and Sheffield Archives. This publication is based on that final report, but edited and updated, so there are some minor differences between the documents. But, inspired by a great deal of public interest during the excavations (and Mili's love for comics), a comic book has also been created and is published here alongside what would otherwise be a more traditional offering.

‘The Great Yorkshire Way’: Iron Age and Romano-British Activity Near Rossington, South Yorkshire

Between 2012 and 2014 Wessex Archaeology investigated field system remains in advance of the construction of a new road to the south of Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Radiocarbon dates indicate that the field system was established in the late Iron Age with subsequent extension and renewal in the first half of the Romano-British period. The environmental evidence indicates Iron Age clearance and agriculture, followed by possible woodland regeneration. Damp, grazed pasture, with some indication of arable cultivation in the wider area, can be detected during the Romano-British phase, with wetter conditions and an increase in alder fen-carr coinciding with the end of archaeologically visible activity. The site lay close to a Roman town, potteries, and military bases, yet relatively little engagement with Roman material culture can be detected on the part of the indigenous population. Overall, there appears to have been continuity in local land management and farming practices from the Iron Age into the Romano-British period.

Medieval hemp retting? Excavations at Bridge Lane House, Bawtry, Doncaster

In 2012, Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Rural Estates Limited to complete reporting on excavations previously undertaken in 2006–2007 by ARCUS (University of Sheffield) for Lewis Holdings L...

A new Later Upper Palaeolithic open-air site with articulated horse bone in the Colne Valley, Berkshire

The end of the last Ice Age in Britain (c. 11500 BP) created major disruption to the biosphere. Open habitats were succeeded by more wooded landscapes, and changes occurred to the fauna following the abrupt disappearance of typical glacial herd species, such as reindeer and horse (Conneller & Higham 2015). Understanding the impact of these changes on humans and how quickly they were able to adapt may soon become clearer, due to recent discoveries in the Colne Valley on the western edge of Greater London, north of the River Thames. An exceptionally well-preserved open-air site was discovered in 2014 as part of a wider project of archaeological investigation and excavation carried out by Wessex Archaeology (2015), on behalf of CEMEX UK. The site, at Kingsmead Quarry in Horton, is unusual because it has good organic preservation and, in addition to worked flint artefacts, it has yielded groups of articulated horse bone. The extreme rarity of such sites of this period in Britain makes this discovery especially significant and re-emphasises the potential importance of the Colne Valley (Lacaille 1963; Lewis 2011; Morgi et al. 2011).

The Iona II Dive Trail, Building Relationships Through the Protection and Management of Marine Heritage

The Iona II Dive Trail is an example of the developing relationships surrounding groups working together to preserve wrecks for the future. The United Kingdom (U.K.) government service Historic England commissioned Wessex Archaeology, a U.K.-based commercial archaeology company, to develop the dive trail in conjunction with the U.K. diving community to encourage responsible access, an enhanced visitor experience and public engagement with the care and management of U.K. Protected Wrecks. We (the authors) are the Wessex Archaeology project employees; Victoria Cooper was the project manager and Peta Knott was the project archaeologist. The paddle steamer Iona II was lost off Lundy Island, U.K., in 1864 after setting sail to become a blockade runner in the American Civil War. The wreck's history since its rediscovery in 1976 demonstrates the change in attitude to marine heritage from recreational divers, archaeologists and government heritage managers, and the evolution of relationships between these groups.

London Gateway: maritime archaeology in the Thames estuary Wessex Archaeology Report no. 30 ANTHONY FIRTH, NIALL CALLAN, TOBY GANE and STEPHANIE ARNOTT 88 pp., including Appendix of all 29 sites, 55 mostly colour and some B&W prints & historic photos, 8 t

London Gateway: maritime archaeology in the Thames estuary Wessex Archaeology Report no. 30 ANTHONY FIRTH, NIALL CALLAN, TOBY GANE and STEPHANIE ARNOTT 88 pp., including Appendix of all 29 sites, 55 mostly colour and some B&W prints & historic photos, 8 t

Auer & Maarleveld (eds): The Gresham Ship Project, Volume 1

The management of England’s underwater cultural heritage (UCH) has fundamentally changed during the last decade and a half. In 2002 English Heritage, now Historic England, assumed the responsibility for the overall management of material within England’s territorial waters. This included overseeing the Protection of Wrecks Act (1973), the principle legislative tool under UK law for looking after historic shipwrecks. This was followed in 2009 by the Marine and Coastal Access Act which included the establishment of the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to plan, license and monitor all development activity taking place within England’s territorial waters. This includes development that might impact upon UCH, for which the MMO is provided with statutory advice by Historic England. Although there are still well documented issues surrounding the archiving and dissemination of maritime archaeological material (e.g. Ransley and Satchell 2014) the provision for the protection and management of UCH across the constituent countries of the UK means that compliance with the UNESCO 2001 Convention would be relatively straightforward were the UK government to ratify it (see UK UNESCO 2001 Convention Review Group 2013). In the midst of this management sea-change lay the large-scale dredging of the Princes Channel in the Thames Estuary to service the development of the Thames Gateway port. Although taking place prior to the establishment of the MMO, the Thames Gateway work is notable because of the willingness of the Port of London Authority (PLA) to engage with, and take account of heritage concerns, although they were not technically obliged to do so. On a wider scale, such consideration has resulted in the publication of an account of wider development-led work in the Thames Estuary (Firth et al. 2012) and the designation of the site of the warship London, lost in 1665 and currently undergoing excavation. In 2003 the PLA recovered what appeared to be an old cannon and an anchor from a wreck site in the Princes Channel and contacted Wessex Archaeology to seek an inspection

Aviation Archaeology Offshore: The Recovery of a Rare Ju88 Aircraft Wreck during Work for the New London Gateway Port

During dredging works for the new London Gateway Port in 2011, fragments of a German Ju 88 bomber were recovered from the Thames Estuary. Subsequent archaeological investigation by Wessex Archaeology, using geophysical survey and divers, resulted in the location of the wreck site and its subsequent recovery under licence in 2012. Post-recovery analysis has enabled it to be identified as a very rare prototype Ju 88T. The aircraft, flown by men of the secretive Luftwaffe special operations unit VOdL, was lost during a reconnaissance mission to record bomb damage at Chelmsford in 1943. The Norwegian fighter ace who shot it down, Marius Eriksen, subsequently achieved fame as a Norwegian skiing champion and actor. The recovery was unusual in that it was carried out as a staged archaeological investigation and in the context of offshore development, where ‘avoidance’ is the usual strategy.

Medieval Roxburgh: a preliminary assessment of the burgh and its locality

Little surface trace now remains of the royal burgh of Roxburgh in the Scottish Borders, which flourished between the 12th and 15th centuries AD. By the early 16th century it had been abandoned. Documentary sources, maps, topographical analysis and aerial photography have been brought together in a preliminary attempt to define the burgh’s location, defences, internal morphology, historical and environmental contexts, and associated extramural features including bridges, roads, suburbs, churches and mills. Some of these assessments have been tested by geophysical survey and small-scale excavation sanctioned by Historic Scotland and conducted by GSB Prospection and Wessex Archaeology on behalf of Channel 4’s Time Team. Work to date is summarized as a basis for formulating a long-term research agenda and management structure for this important site.

Underwater Archaeology on Foot: a Systematic Rapid Foreshore Survey on the North Kent Coast, England

Foreshore archaeology can be considered ‘underwater archaeology on foot’, because it is possible to investigate the archaeological heritage at low tide without the need for diving. Rising sea-levels, increasing coastal erosion and the loss of important foreshore environments make immediate action necessary. In 2005, Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Kent County Council, supported by English Heritage, to continue a Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey on the North Kent Coast as part of a project started in 2001. In four weeks 378 monuments were updated and 198 new monuments recorded, among them a submerged forest, a trackway, several fish-traps and shipwrecks. © 2007 The Authors

Maritime archaeology: a technical handbook (2nd edn). Jeremy Green. Academic Press, London, 2004. ISBN: 0122986326

Archaeological ProspectionVolume 13, Issue 2 p. 137-138 Book Review Maritime archaeology: a technical handbook (2nd edn). Jeremy Green. Academic Press, London, 2004. ISBN: 0122986326 Graham Scott, Graham Scott Wessex Archaeology, SalisburySearch for more papers by this authorPaul Baggaley, Paul Baggaley Wessex Archaeology, SalisburySearch for more papers by this author Graham Scott, Graham Scott Wessex Archaeology, SalisburySearch for more papers by this authorPaul Baggaley, Paul Baggaley Wessex Archaeology, SalisburySearch for more papers by this author First published: 02 June 2006 https://doi.org/10.1002/arp.279AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume13, Issue2April/June 2006Pages 137-138 RelatedInformation

Peace dividend brings archaeological rewards

The political changes throughout Europe in the latter part of the 20th century have brought about a reduction in the number of military establishments in the British Isles. Large areas of land including airfields and ranges are now classified as 'brown field' sites ripe for development. The archaeological potential of such sites should not be underestimated. Over a three-year period archaeologists from the Defence Evaluation & Research Agency (DERA) and Wessex Archaeology have monitored all intrusive work carried out at the DERA airfield Boscombe Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire. This has been complemented with a desktop survey using vertical photographs from the sites archive, material which has not been available before. The preliminary results indicate that, far from being a sterile site, Boscombe Down still retains a substantial number of monuments and features.

Development-led archaeology in coastal environments: investigations at Queenborough, Motney Hill and Gravesend in Kent, UK

Abstract This paper reviews a series of investigations undertaken by Wessex Archaeology in North Kent in advance of major construction projects. Three sites have been investigated on areas of former saltmarsh at Queenborough, Motney Hill and Gravesend. All three sites currently contain wastewater treatment works (WTW) which are being enhanced in order to meet new water quality standards, involving the construction of new buildings on dense grids of piles driven through the alluvium to more solid strata up to 15 m below ground surface. The paper discusses each investigation in terms of the archaeological and geotechnical background, the evaluation and mitigation strategy adopted, and the contribution that the results may make to our understanding of human activity on the North Kent coast over the past 10 000 years. The paper also looks ahead to development-led investigations at other coastal locations, to show how such work can make a direct contribution to geoarchaeological research while reconciling the objectives of construction and conservation.

The excavation of a turf-sided lock at Monkey Marsh, Thatcham, Berks

As part of the programme to re-open the full length of the Kennet and Avon Canal, the restoration of many of its locks was necessary. At Monkey Marsh lock, this restoration threatened the existence of a turf-sided lock and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Wessex Archaeology undertook a programme of archaeological excavation and survey in 1989-90 to record the surviving phases of the structure. This paper presents a report on the archaeological work and integrates the archaeological results with the fragmentary historical record.

The excavation of a turf-sided lock at Monkey Marsh, Thatcham, Berks

As part of the programme to re-open the full length of the Kennet and Avon Canal, the restoration of many of its locks was necessary. At Monkey Marsh lock, this restoration threatened the existence of a turf-sided lock and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Wessex Archaeology undertook a programme of archaeological excavation and survey in 1989-90 to record the surviving phases of the structure. This paper presents a report on the archaeological work and integrates the archaeological results with the fragmentary historical record.

Early Settlement in Berkshire: Mesolithic—roman Occupation in the Thames and Kennet Valleys (Wessex Archaeology Report No. 6). By I. Barnes, W. A. Boismier, R. M. J. Cleal, A. P. Fitzpatrickand M. R. Roberts

(1996). Early Settlement in Berkshire: Mesolithic—roman Occupation in the Thames and Kennet Valleys (Wessex Archaeology Report No. 6). By I. Barnes, W. A. Boismier, R. M. J. Cleal, A. P. Fitzpatrick and M. R. Roberts. Archaeological Journal: Vol. 153, No. 1, pp. 373-374.

The Marlborough Downs: A Later Bronze Age Landscape and its Origins. By Christopher Gingell. xv + 166 pp., 96 figs, 10 pls, 13 tables in text, 40 in microfiche. Devizes: Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society (Monograph 1), in conjunction with the Trust for Wessex Archaeology, 1992. £30.00.

The Marlborough Downs: A Later Bronze Age Landscape and its Origins. By Christopher Gingell. xv + 166 pp., 96 figs, 10 pls, 13 tables in text, 40 in microfiche. Devizes: Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society (Monograph 1), in conjunction with the Trust for Wessex Archaeology, 1992. £30.00. - Volume 59