Land off Black Bank / North Moor Road (New Wildlife Pond), Messingham, North Lincolnshire, DN17 3PX: Archaeological Evaluation Report

Three trenches positioned within the footprint of a proposed wildlife pond. Machine excavated, sondage at each end and augur core in the centre of each trench. Environmental samples of buried sandy soils, peats and the underlying geology to determine the potential for these surfaces to have been utilised as surface sin the surrounding area have evidence of prehistoric habitation. All three trenches were devoid of archaeological features. Layers of desiccated peat and sandy soils were recorded above the natural windblown sands. Bulk and core samples taken from these layers revealed only low densities of natural grassland wet/marginal species, with no cereal evidence. Low densities of charcoal flecks in the peat layers were of unknown origin, having potentially been blown some considerable distance before settling into the wetland landscape.