Trial Trench at St Cuthbert's Garden Village Phase 1

The trenches were located to target anomalies which had been identified during the Geophysical Survey undertaken in February 2025 (Wardell Armstrong 2025), and cropmarks which have been identified by aerial photography (Aerial Archaeology Mapping Explorer | Historic England). The general aims of this investigation were, to: " Identify the presence or absence of any buried archaeological remains; " Identify, investigate and record any such archaeological remains including condition and extent; " Establish the state of preservation of any buried remains and provide a chronology of the archaeological phasing; " Determine (so far as possible) the stratigraphic sequence, character and dating of the deposits or features identified; " Assess the significance of any archaeological remains found, together with the need for and scope of any further archaeological investigation / mitigation as appropriate; " Analyse, conserve and store any artefacts or ecofacts recovered; and " Disseminate the results through an appropriate level of reporting and integrate the results into the wider historical and archaeological context. Deposits considered not to be significant were removed by a mechanical excavator with a toothless ditching bucket, under close archaeological supervision. All possible features were inspected and excavated by hand. Once completed all features were recorded according to the Wardell Armstrong standard procedure as set out in the Excavation Manual (2020). On completion, the evaluation trenches were reinstated by replacing the excavated material in sequence. The trial trenching was undertaken between the 27th October and 6th November 2025 and comprised the excavation of 16 trenches across the proposed development site. The archaeological work revealed that the possible hilltop enclosure identified by aerial photography as cropmarks in the north-west part of the site survived as substantial ditches. The finds recovered included sherds of 2nd to 4th century AD pottery. The enclosure appears to date to the Romano-British period and is similar to other sites identified by archaeological work in the vicinity (e.g. Durranhill, Botcherby Nurseries and the Cumberland Infirmary). Further work is to be undertaken