Field Observation (Monitoring) at Gordon Cottage, Haddenham

Areas and activities where archaeological observation took place included: � Ground reduction to reduced levels within the footprint of the proposed new building; � Hand-excavation of a test-pit within the footprint of the proposed new building; � Machine excavation of foundation/ service trenches, and � Ground reduction to reduced levels within the area of the proposed new car park. Areas and activities which were not subject to archaeological observation included: � Grubbing-out of foundations and lifting of floor slabs, and � Ground reduction to reduced levels in the patio area. All archaeological observation and recording was carried out in accordance with the methodologies and standards laid out in the Written Scheme of Investigation (Network Archaeology Ltd 2015) and by the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA, 2014i-iv). Contexts were recorded from the number block 1000-1999. Archaeology in Area 2 (the proposed car park) was planned and recorded but not investigated by hand, on account of the fact that the archaeology exposed at the reduced ground level could be preserved in-situ beneath the make-up for the car park. The archaeological investigations were successful in identifying a number of features and layers, dating from the late Saxon to early modern periods. No pre-late Saxon activity was identified. The evidence suggests that activity within the PDA mostly took place in the late Saxon/medieval periods, with a potential hiatus through the post-medieval until the construction of Gordon House. There is a moderate level of confidence in both the factual results of the archaeological investigations and their interpretation. By its nature, archaeological observation during construction affords only limited opportunities for observation and recording. Discovered archaeology in the vicinity of the proposed new building was mostly observed in the sides of construction/ service trenches and in plan on small 'islands' in-between trenches. In the area of the proposed new car park, discovered archaeology was only observed/ recorded in plan.