Evaluation at Ludwick Green, Ludwick Way, Welwyn Garden City, Herts

Machine excavation of one 20m long evaluation trench, located in the unoccupied area of the site, within the footprint of the proposed new structure An archaeological evaluation comprising a single 20m long trench was undertaken at Ludwick Green, Ludwick Way, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire prior to the demolition of the existing residential unit and construction of a new 3-storey residential building. Despite being in close proximity to Iron Age activity, no archaeological finds, features or deposits were encountered during this investigation. The stratigraphy of the site comprised a topsoil and subsoil overburden which shown no evidence of contamination prior to the modern period. Building detritus such as concrete, brick, bitumen and plastics, were encountered in the stratigraphic layers, likely being introduced to the soils during the construction of the existing building on site and the surrounding houses. Rooting was abundant throughout the trenches which would have also pushed some of the contaminates further into the ground It is possible that the site is located on the periphery of an ancient settlement, and that any features which may be present are widely dispersed and located beyond the boundaries of the evaluation trench. Due to the lack of archaeological features and materials the research aims associated with the project could not be advanced on this occasion.