Pre-Construct Archaeology Ltd was appointed by RPS Consulting Ltd to undertake an archaeological evaluation on of land at Southwick Road, Wickham, Hampshire, NGR 457792 111045. The Site covers an area of approximately 3.2ha and it is intended to inform proposals for development of the site for residential use for which planning consent is to be sought from Winchester City Council. The archaeological evaluation was carried out in keeping with the aim and methods set out in the approved Written Scheme of Investigation for a scheme of 33 trenches, each 30m by 1.8m (PCA 2024 A). An initial phase of evaluation was undertaken between the 18th of November - 5th of December 2024, however due to adverse ground conditions, only 15 trenches were excavated, and in only two trenches was it possible to carry detailed archaeological investigation and recording. A second phase of evaluation was undertaken between 4th - 15th August 2025 which excavated and recorded the remaining 18 trenches. Despite poor ground conditions and limited levels of feature sampling that was possible during the initial phase, the site's archaeological potential appears similar to archaeological evidence investigated immediately to the west. The Roman road with its auxiliary ditches were recorded in the northern part of site as was predicted and indicated by the geophysical survey, which appears to have provided a reliable indicator of the presence of archaeological on the Site. Ditches investigated in trenches 1, 17, 18 and 20 and pits in trenches 17 and 15 yielded Romano-British finds consisting primarily of 2nd and 3rd century AD locally produced pottery as well as a small but proportionally significant quantity of imported Samian ware, which is suggestive of a Romano British which held some level of status, likely because of its position along the Roman Road.
Marianna Di Chiaro (Wed,) studied this question.