Watching Brief at Medieval Hamlet of Littlecote, Stewkley

As a condition of scheduled monument consent (ref: HSD9/2/4331pt1), an archaeological watching brief took place on the 21st March 2000, and the results of this work are the basis of this report. The impact of this design was a deep hole (L 5m, W 4m, D c.3m) and a trench (L 4m, W 0.5m, D 0.75m) (figure 3a). Archaeological Monitoring and Recording The pit and trenches were excavated using a 360� tracked excavator fitted with a toothless ditching blade. The sides of the trenches were cleaned by hand, and inspected for archaeological remains. The excavated spoil was checked for artefacts. DISCUSSION The most significant deposit is spread 005 (Figure 3). Its mixed appearance indicates that it is the combined product of at least two deposits. The high density of stones does not occur naturally at the site, and implies the importation and/or gathering of possible building material, while patches of redeposited clay, could originate from the excavation of the underlying clay substrate. The general lack of domestic material (eg. pottery and bone) shows that the deposit is not directly occupation related. The layer most probably represents a dump of waste or surplus spoil which may result from the excavation of foundation trenches during the construction of the adjacent barn, or could have been deliberately spread out to improve drainage at the entrance to the adjacent field. Additionally, the layer might have been make-up for gravel layer 002/003. Dating The only dating evidence for the layer (005) is a single piece of pottery and two fragments of tile, which were made at some point in the 17th to 19th centuries. This dating accords with the known periods of redevelopment of the site. It is most likely that the layer (005) dates to the most recent period of redevelopment when the current farmhouse and outbuildings were constructed, in the early nineteenth century.