Land at Willington, County Durham: archaeological evaluation

This report presents the results of an archaeological evaluation conducted in advance of a proposed development at Land in Willington, County Durham. The works comprised the excavation and recording of 29 trial trenches. Archaeological deposits comprising ditches and gullies cut into the natural subsoil were present in trenches 22 to 24 and 26 to 29. These indicate the presence of a series of enclosures. Sections of a curvilinear gully were identified in trench 28 suggesting the presence of a ring gully from a round house. A series of pits and a posthole were present in trenches 19, 22, 26, 28 and 29 implying activity possibly linked to the enclosures and ring gully. A post-medieval boundary ditch was present in the southern ends of trenches 8 and 11. No archaeological deposits were recorded in trenches 1 to 7, 9, 10, 12 to 18, 20, 21 and 25. Artefacts recovered include Roman and prehistoric pottery, fragments of animal bone and prehistoric flints. A large quantity of 19th-20th century pottery and glass was recovered from a former field boundary. Palaeoenvironmental evidence points to several phases of occupation. Neolithic or Bronze Age, Iron Age/Romano-British, and early medieval activity is suggested.