Watching Brief at Proposed Slurry Lagoon on land at Glanville Farm, Offwell, Devon

Archaeological Monitoring and Recording was undertaken by South West Archaeology Ltd. (SWARCH) for Sheamus Machin (the agent) at the request of a private client, in advance of the excavation for the creation of an earth lined slurry lagoon with security perimeter fence. This work was undertaken on the 12th May 2025 in accordance with a Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI) drawn up in consultation with the Devon County Historic Environment Team. The area stripped during monitoring measured c. 45m long by 50m wide and was carried out using a toothless grading bucket. The area was excavated to a depth of up to 0.42m deep. The stratigraphy was consistent across the site: Topsoil was a soft mid brown with occasional small sized rounded stones, measuring up to 0.22m deep. The subsoil was similar, but with a slightly more clayey consistency and measured up to 0.20m deep. This directly overlay the natural, a mid grey-yellow clay with flecks of weathered bedrock throughout as well as occasional clusters of medium sized stone outcrops. Occasional striations of a darker clay were noted within the natural, these were natural in origin. Plough marks were also evident across the surface of the natural. No archaeological features, finds or deposits were present. Further excavations were required to reach the full depth of the clay lined lagoon; as this continued beyond the natural and owing to the lack of archaeology on site, all further work was permitted to continue without archaeological supervision.