Archaeological trial trench evaluation on land at Dadford Road, Silverstone, Northamptonshire

The works were carried out in accordance with the approved Written Scheme of Investigation. All works follow the recording procedures detailed in MOLA's Archaeological Fieldwork Manual. Recording followed standard MOLA procedures The trial trench evaluation focused on the eastern half of the site at this stage, and 17 trenches distributed across the eastern area were excavated, which measured 50m in length and 2m in width. The trenches were positioned to avoid known buried services and existing tarmaced surfaces. At the request of the client, a further two trenches were excavated in the south-west corner of the site. Upon the request of the NCCCAA an additional small square area (10m in length) was also excavated between trenches 16 and 17 to try and identify any other features within this area, in particular the extent of features identified within trench 17. The trenches were positioned to retain a 10m easement from the services and to provide an even coverage. The trenches therefore covered both geophysical anomalies and also areas where no archaeological remains were expected (SUMO 2019). The trenches were located using a Leica Survey Grade RTK GPS operating to an accuracy of 0.05m to Ordance Survey National Grid and Datum. Topsoil and overburden were removed by mechanical excavator using a toothless ditching bucket under archaeological supervision. Mechanical excavation ceased at the undisturbed natural deposits or the top of the archaeological horizon, whichever was encountered first. The topsoil was stacked separately from the subsoil. The machined surface was cleaned to enhance the features and planned using Leica Survey Grade RTK GPS to produce a pre-excavation plan. All archaeological features were investigated. Slots excavated though linear features were a minimum of 1.0m in width. Nineteen trenches were excavated and two ditches were identified, one of Roman date and the other was undated. Post-medieval plough furrows were identified across the site.