Archaeological Evaluation and Excavation Report The Manor, Farm Lane, Westmancote, GL20 7ES

The evaluation involved the mechanical excavation under archaeological supervision of two 20m x 1.8m trial trenches as specified in the WSI. The evaluation was immediately followed by an investigation of the entire development footprint. Where necessary, surfaces were hand cleaned for examination and recording and deposits observed were recorded on standard pro-forma recording sheets. Full context descriptions are provided in Appendix 1 of the report. A digital colour photographic record was maintained, some of which is reproduced in the report as plates 1 - 14, Appendix 2. All work was carried out according to the agreed Written Schemes of Investigation and in accordance with the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) standards and guidance for archaeological evaluations. The field was historically an apple orchard, with the trees grubbed up and the field ploughed in the mid 20th century. It was more recently trialled as a vineyard when drainage was installed. This has resulted in severe truncation to the site with all of the features heavily disturbed and only the basal deposits surviving. This made interpretation somewhat tenuous. Unstratified Roman pottery was recovered from the interface of the topsoil and natural geology indicating the presence of Roman activity in the wider area. The archaeological investigation identified a stone track crossing the site; pottery dating from the 11th century provides a terminus post quem for its construction. A fairly substantial roadside ditch 1010 was constructed along the track's south-south-west side which contained pottery of the 14th century. This ditch was later re-cut by 1012. A building was constructed at the side of the track of which only the roughly coursed limestone foundations survived. This building was later extended to the north-west as evidenced by a stub wall . A stone yard surface abutted the uilding to the south-east. The function of this building is uncertain as it was heavily truncated with no internal floor deposits present. The scale of the structure, its building material and its proximity to the manor house may indicate it is of high status. A possible interpretation is that it represents the manorial stable. This would also tie in with the adjacent stone yard surface. Another interpretation is that as the site lies within the boundary of the deserted Medieval village (DMV) north of The Manor, Westmancote (WSM31180), it might represent a communal structure such as granary or possibly the chapel (WSM03335) alluded to above. LiDAR imagery has revealed earthworks of house platforms, a holloway (WSM31181), backlane and trackway extending into the adjacent fields which suggests that the site formed an integral component of the settlement. All of the pottery recovered from the archaeological features is Medieval, although it should be noted that it is abraded and likely to be in a secondary context. Nevertheless, the evidence points towards a concentration of activity in the 14th century with a lack of evidence for activity post-dating this period. The presence of pottery from the 11th century may indicate the approximate date the DMV was founded, with the lack of post 14th century pottery potentially indicating its date of abandonment. This would tie in with the black death, a plague event which occurred between 1346 and 1353 which resulted in abandonment of many villages due to population decrease. The animal bone recovered from the rubbish pit 1014 is of a typical Medieval domestic nature, indicating the presence of cattle sheep and pig, all of which displayed signs of butchery. The cattle provided more specialised evidence of preparation for stewing. Gnaw marks on some of the bone provides indirect evidence for the presence of a dog while rare evidence of the presence of polecats is indicated by the recovery of a mandible.