Watching Brief at Rave Coffee

Second phase of works undertaken at this site, monitoring the excavation of foundations for the new warehouse The investigation recorded a number of modern features comprising evidence for disturbance relating the construction of the existing Rave Coffee Building , as well as various services. A demolition rubble spread was also seen across the central part of the Site, containing dressed and undressed stone, could possibly date to the Roman period, representing the remains of construction comprising a dressed stone and rubble core wall. However, this date is not certain. It was very clear that this was no longer in situ and have been heavily disturbed. It also recorded a large pit possibly associated with the construction of the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway line (later the GWR) in 1841, or its dismantling in the 1960s. This train line ran directly through the Site from south-east to north-west. This feature contained Roman pottery, post medieval pottery modern metals and industrial materials, indicating a high level of disturbance on Site. A number of other smaller features also seem to relate to railway activity, due to the prevalence of deposits containing coke material. Based on the available evidence, it seems that the Site has multi-period remains that could potentially date back to the Romano-British Period, however these have been heavily disturbed by industrial activity, most likely relating to the railway line that ran through the Site.