Evaluation at 31-33 High Street, Pershore

The intention was to open three trenches, each 10m long and 1.6m long in the footprints of the proposed houses. The locations of the trenches were set out using triangulation from known fixed structures. Prior to excavation, the locations of the trenches were scanned using a Cable Awareness Tool to ensure that no live services were present. Initial excavation of the trenches (removal of topsoil and subsoil) was carried out using a tracked mechanical excavator supplied by the client. It was fitted with a toothless bucket and excavations were undertaken under archaeological supervision. The excavation of Trench 2 uncovered a bees nest in the central part of the trench. With the approval of the LPA's curator this area was left, and a compensatory length was added to the eastern end of the trench to make a total of 12m. Furthermore, on excavation of the southern end of Trench 3, it was found that the natural substrate was more than a metre below the ground surface. As the trench was adjacent to a tall brick wall bordering an area used by articulated lorries to deliver to a supermarket, it was considered that, in consideration of the loose nature of the topsoil, the risk of undermining the wall was too great to continue. This pit was labelled 3a. A test pit (3b) was dug at the northern end of the trench, with a narrower bucket, but it was found that the depth of the substrate was slightly shallow but still deep in this location. The nature of the deposits was briefly recorded and the two areas were backfilled The evaluation revealed three features: Closest to the street frontage was a probable elongated pit containing a quantity of tile and a Malvernian rim sherd dated to the 15th- 16th centuries. Slightly to the east was a brick lined well, thought to be 19th or 20th century in date and to the east of this, a relatively modern refuse pit. The pattern of backplot activity is typical of an urban burgage plot which would have been used for deposition of domestic waste and other activities over a long period of time. Similar activity has been recorded in archaeological interventions in the plots either side of the site.