Archaeological Watching Brief Report on Long Close, Cricklade, Wiltshire

On the 9th to 11th September 2025 Urban Archaeology carried out an archaeological watching brief for Cricklade Town Council on the excavation for a new drain at Long Close, Cricklade, Wiltshire, SN6 6NQ, SU 09860 93890 to alleviate flooding The excavated trench crosses the line of the western defensive circuit of Cricklade postulated by Haslam who suggested at least three Saxon ditches on the western side of Cricklade, with further Medieval ditches and banks, one of which is the present eastern boundary ditch of Long Close. The trench was between 0.45 and 0.5m in depth and 0.5m wide and 41m long, No conclusive evidence for the defensive circuit was found, although a 4.4m wide cut/interface and its fill may be the upper infilling of a wider ditch that lies largely below the limit of excavation, its position corelates strongly with area of Haslam's 12th century Period 4 medieval ditch. It is thought probable that homogenous soil layers are post-medieval in origin and are reworked subsoils and bank deposits. Any ditches are likely to be sealed beneath these layers although it should be noted that the 2013 geophysics did not find any evidence for these ditches. The watching brief helped minimise the disturbance to the monument and whilst it did not find evidence for the postulated defensive circuit this is likely to be due to the shallow depth of the excavation. The site has provided further evidence for Roman and medieval century activity at the western side of Cricklade.