A total of five trenches varying between 15 m and 7 m in length, were excavated in order to inform planning decisions regarding the development. The trenches 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. All exposed archaeological features were 100% excavated and recorded using pro forma recording sheets. Plans and sections were drawn at appropriate scales and a photographic record was kept during the entirety of the evaluation. A Leica GNSS was used to survey the location of the trenches and archaeological features. Two of these features were environmentally sampled. 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. All artefacts from excavated contexts were retained, although those of features of modern date (19th century or later) were recorded on site and not retained. The trenches were completed to the satisfaction of the client and WCAS and were backfilled using excavated materials in the order in which they were excavated. Of the five trenches investigated, two contained archaeological remains, comprising three postholes. Although dating for the postholes remains unclear, environmental samples taken from those in trench 3 have revealed a significant amount of charred plant remains. Providing insights into the use of numerous grains, the results of this sampling are believed to be of regional significance and further analysis is recommended. Furthermore, when combined with results from the Park and Ride site and previous fieldwork at Elmfield House, the evaluation has provided data to reconstruct a preliminary model of deposits forming the lower slopes of the Avon valley side and extending into the floodplain.
Harding et al. (Mon,) studied this question.