WP 029C Historic Environment Works - Roundhill Wood: Addendum Final Factual Report for Archaeological Mitigation

Open-area excavation occupying of a 0.31-hectare site identified by two phases of trial trenching. The mitigation exposed and recorded archaeological remains comprising ditches defining a Romano-British enclosure, which extended beyond the excavated area. Pits within the enclosed area contained further Romano-British artefacts. The ceramics have a broad 2nd-3rd-century AD focus. Post-medieval ditches were also exposed. Potentially the earliest datable remains from the mitigation area were four conjoining sherds from a thick-walled vessel broadly datable to the Middle-Late Iron Age, although handmade prehistoric fabrics continued for several decades post-Conquest. Moreover, this pottery was found in fresh condition and alongside a larger assemblage (11 sherds) of Romano-British pottery. Although the potential Iron Age sherds therefore appear at least residual, some activity on or near the site at that time cannot be entirely ruled out. Environmental data gathered during the fieldwork indicate arable cultivation in the surrounding landscape in the Romano-British period, with a settlement containing kilns or ovens located somewhere near the mitigation area. Further environmental analysis is recommended to better understand this aspect of the remains. The stratigraphic and artefactual potential of the site is more limited, with no further work recommended on these aspects of the archive. Overall, the site would appear to be of minor/local archaeological value.