Meadow Farm, Kimpton Down, Hampshire: Phase 1 Archaeological Evaluation

A total of 20 trial trenches, typically measuring 30 m or 20 m in length and 1.80 m in width (though two were shortened due to onsite obstructions and health and safety concerns), were excavated in level spits using a 360� excavator equipped with a toothless bucket, under the constant supervision and instruction of the monitoring archaeologist. Machine excavation proceeded until either the archaeological horizon or the natural geology was exposed. Where necessary, the base of the trench/surface of archaeological deposits were cleaned by hand. A sample of archaeological features and deposits was hand-excavated, sufficient to address the project aims. Spoil from machine stripping and hand-excavated archaeological deposits was visually scanned for the purposes of finds retrieval. Artefacts were collected and bagged by context. All artefacts from excavated contexts were retained. All exposed archaeological deposits and features were recorded using Wessex Archaeology's pro forma recording system. A complete record of excavated features and deposits was made, including plans and sections drawn to appropriate scales (generally 1:20 or 1:50 for plans and 1:10 for sections) and tied to the Ordnance Survey (OS) National Grid. A Leica GNSS connected to Leica's SmartNet service surveyed the location of archaeological features. All survey data is recorded in OS National Grid coordinates and heights above OD (Newlyn), as defined by OSTN15 and OSGM15, with a three-dimensional accuracy of at least 50 mm. A full photographic record was made using digital cameras equipped with an image sensor of not less than 16 megapixels. Digital images have been subject to managed quality control and curation processes, which has embedded appropriate metadata within the image and will ensure long term accessibility of the image set. 17 trenches were found to contain archaeological features with the majority pertaining to former field boundaries and storage pits. The latter were found to have been later reused for refuse disposal, though one example was found to contain an inhumation, which has been dated through a C14 sample to the Middle Iron Age period (390-200 cal. BC). Concentrated within the eastern extent of the site, the former field boundaries appear to span the later Iron Age period through the early Romano-British period, with multiple phases of agricultural exploitation of the landscape identified through re-cuts of several of the ditches. A possible trackway and enclosure ditch were also identified. The results correlate with the archaeological and historical background of the site and the landscape within which its situated. It is likely that the field boundaries relate to the extensive field systems known to extend across and beyond the site bounds, with foci of settlement to the east (Iron Age) and south (Romano-British).