Evaluation at North Portal, South Heath Cutting 1C18NPOTT - Fieldwork Report

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken on land at North Portal C2a, near Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire by Infra Ltd. A total of 159 trenches were excavated. A total of 159 trenches were excavated producing substantial ditches, large pits and a moderate assemblage of smaller ditches and pits along with some possible postholes and a single inhumation. Prehistoric occupation is indicated by a single flexed inhumation burial and large ditch features, while one large pit had the remains of a complete medieval vessel at the base. The larger pits, which were not numerous, are possibly storage pits. post-medieval brown, lead-glazed, 18th century red earthen wares were recovered from linear features probably associated with a previous field boundary toward the northwest of site, with a large quantity of Post Medieval tile recovered from the overburden across site. The ditch which skirts the western side of site (through trenches 115, 118 and possibly returns through to 130) is 12m wide and over 1.8m deep, suggesting a substantial enclosure feature if not defensive in function. The recovery of a single inhumation alongside large possible storage pits, within the supposed confines of the enclosure, suggests a multi-purpose site, but unlikely to be domestic due to the paucity of finds and the lack of any post-built structures noted. A second large ditch, located further north on the plateau of the hill (trench 77), appears to be a field boundary that was relocated during the post-medieval period, and may relate to an earlier boundary. The majority of features did not produce dating evidence. The single pit dated to the Roman period, located toward the north of site (trench 49) may have a bearing on the smaller parallel linear ditches within that vicinity, which may form an enclosure. The topography of the site slopes toward the south, which may be related to the presence of shallow linear features. These features appear to have been used to create terracing in the landscape and are still visible on the surface. Such features may represent medieval lynchets, however the dating recovered from one of these features (trench 134) comprised post-medieval tile, which may suggest they were in use into this period.