Solent Gateway, Marchwood Military Port, Marchwood, Hampshire

29 trial trenches, of which 28 measuring 30 m in length and 1.80 m wide and one measuring 12 m in length and 1.80 m wide, were excavated in level spits using a 360� excavator equipped with a toothless bucket, under the constant supervision and instruction of the monitoring archaeologist. Machine excavation proceeded until either the archaeological horizon or the natural geology was exposed. In the northern part of the site presence of field drains were frequent therefore the level of excavation remained within the subsoil within two trenches. Where necessary, the base of the trench/surface of archaeological deposits were cleaned by hand. A sample of archaeological features and deposits was hand-excavated, sufficient to address the project aims. Spoil from machine stripping and hand-excavated archaeological deposits was visually scanned for the purposes of finds retrieval. Artefacts were collected and bagged by context. Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Associated British Ports, to undertake an archaeological evaluation of land located at Marchwood Military Port, Marchwood, Hampshire (NGR 439837 110050). The investigation was undertaken as a response to a condition of planning permission associated with the Solent Gateway Project (planning ref. 21/1156). Marchwood Military Port has a long history of military and naval use, which dates back to the early 19th century. During this time the camp was primarily used for ordnance storage with three magazines, a barracks and other military buildings. During World War II the site was utilised by the military as part of the Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre with defensive heavy anti-aircraft structure(s), a training camp and formed a significant element in the assembly of Beetles for the Mulberry Harbour System and was a key logistical part of the Normandy (D-Day) Landings. This evaluation formed part of staged approach to determining the archaeological potential of the site, and followed other non-intrusive archaeological work, including a geophysical survey. This survey identified two sets of geophysical anomalies possibly. One comprised a series of orthogonal anomalies and was interpreted as relating to a tower building visible on mapping dating to 1962, and the second group of anomalies formed a circular area with a diameter of 135 m and were interpreted as part of an anti-aircraft battery. During the evaluation evidence for these structures was identified in the form of concrete structures and more ephemeral demolition material. A concrete wall in trench 14 accords well with the group of circular geophysical anomalies and probably formed part of the anti-aircraft battery. Elsewhere, a concrete block with an attached metal loop may represent a barrage balloon tethering point in trench 29, other military related features include a demolished wall and areas of demolition material (trench 29 and 32. Earlier activity was also identified and comprises at least three ditches that produced 11th-14th century pottery (trenches 8 and 14). The character of these features alongside the known history of the site suggests they relate to former agricultural boundaries and likely form parts of the landscape organisation during the medieval period. Four undated ditches were also investigated in trenches 25 and 28 and may be associated. A total of 29 trenches were excavated during the evaluation which was carried out between 14-25 October 2024