Land off Newland Road, Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire: Archaeological Evaluation

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken at Land off Newland Road, Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire, WR9 7JH, ahead of the erection of up to 50 dwellings and associated infrastructure, with associated landscaping, on behalf of Keepmoat Homes Limited. The work was carried out in accordance with The Chartered Institute for Archaeologists' Standard for archaeological field evaluation (CIfA 2023a), the Universal guidance for archaeological field evaluation (CIfA 2023b) as well as the Standards and Guidelines for Archaeological Projects in Worcestershire (Worcestershire County Council 2024). The only identified cut feature was a linear ditch in Trench 1, which yielded 20th century material confirming the modern date of one known geophysical anomaly. Another anomaly in Trench 1 was revealed as a plough furrow, while an additional curvilinear anomaly in Trench 2 had no archaeological correlate. Trench 5 yielded heat-cracked pebbles within an excavated furrow and in the surrounding soils, possibly indicating residual earlier activity, though no associated features were found. Due to overhead power lines, a sub-circular, geophysical anomaly initially targeted by Trench 7 remains untested; alternative trenches 7a and 7b nearby produced no archaeological features but recovered some unstratified post-medieval artefacts from the overburden. Ridge and furrow cultivation was widespread across the Site, demonstrating extensive historic agricultural use that likely truncated earlier deposits. No evidence for prehistoric or early historic features or boundaries were identified.