Land east of Priory Ridge, Crofton, Wakefield, West Yorkshire. Archaeological Excavation

Archaeological work began with the machine-stripping of topsoil from an area approximately 160m x 55m in size under close archaeological supervision. The topsoil was bunded, as removal by dumper was unsuitable due to the wet site conditions. Machine-removal of topsoil ceased at the point where either archaeological or natural deposits were encountered, whichever was the highest. The machined surface was hand-cleaned using shovel, hoe and trowel as appropriate. Segments were archaeologically excavated by hand across all linear features in order to determine their function, form and relationships. The pits were fully excavated, after initial half sectioning. The features and the spoil heaps (where safe to do so) were scanned with a Laser Hawkeye metal detector. No metal artifacts were recovered. Radiocarbon dating was carried out on the hazel charcoal from Pit fill 012. The results of dated the feature to Radiocarbon Age (BP (before 1950) 1149�29 (68.2% probability 778AD-916AD and 95.4% probability 794 972AD) placing the feature in the late 8th to late 10th centuries in the Saxon/Anglo-Scandinavian Period.