Land Adjacent to CSN Engineering, Abbey Road, Neath, Neath Port Talbot

The excavation area measured a total of 632m� and consisted of four separate areas (Areas 1-4). The areas were not joined together in order to avoid services. All non-significant overburden was removed to the top of archaeological deposits or undisturbed natural through use of a 360� tracked mechanical excavator, equipped with a toothless grading bucket, under constant archaeological direction. All excavation of archaeological features was undertaken manually. Archaeological deposits and features were subject to the sampling levels laid out in the Written Scheme of Investigation (Foundations, 2021). Any required adaptations to the sampled percentages were made after consultation with Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust in their capacity as archaeological advisors to Neath Port Talbot County Council. Previous evaluation work undertaken by Foundations Archaeology in 2008 had identified the potential for intact Roman remains to exist within the assessment area. The excavation and the watching brief revealed a defensive ditched circuit of early Roman date, potentially representative of a previously unrecorded Neronian to early Flavian fort.