Evaluation at Court House Residential Home, Station Road, Cullompton, Devon, EX15 1BE

The Archaeological evaluation will comprise the digging of three trenches measuring 1.8m x 10m long, totalling 30m in length. The evaluation has been requested as the proposed development is suspected to be within an area of archaeological potential including near the proposed location of Roman Road between Exeter and St Andrews Hill. The garden soil (between 0.3m and 0.4m thickness throughout) and overlying deposits were removed by a mechanical excavator using a toothless grading bucket under constant archaeological supervision during the excavation of the trial trenches. The underlying natural substrate consisted of mid red sandy clay, with variations of pale-yellow silty sand and gravel inclusions (106, 203, 303). The uppermost layer, the garden soil (100, 200, 300), sealed a series of make-up deposits. Immediately beneath the garden soil was a possible subsoil layer (201, 304), present on the south and east site of the Site. This deposit consisted of a mid greyish brown to mid reddish brown sandy silt loam. In Trench 1, (100) sealed a make-up deposit of mid reddish brown sandy silt (101). This in turn, overlay a layer of mixed redeposited natural material, which consisted of mid yellowish red sandy clay (102). In Trench 2, the garden soil (200) sealed the aforementioned subsoil (201). This latter deposit overlay a make-up deposit (202), consistent with deposit (101). On the west side of Trench 3, the garden soil (300) sealed a probable levelling deposit of stone (301), which in turn overlay a layer of redeposited natural material (302), consisting of light pinkish brown sandy silt. On the east side of the trench, the garden soil sealed the suspected subsoil (304). This overlays a thick deposit of mid brownish red sandy silt (305), which sealed the dump of stone (301). No features, deposits or artefacts of archaeological interest were observed. The only feature noted consisted of a modern dog burial in Trench 2, which was cutting the subsoil layer and was subsequently removed. In terms of potential impact, the natural substrate was on a similar level to the floor level of the existing Court House building. Given the amount of probable make-up deposits identified in the evaluation trenches, used to probably raise the ground level for the modern garden, it is possible that terracing had occurred overtime and would therefore have destroyed any trace of archaeological evidence.