The Scheme comprised groundworks to install 2.10 km of new 33 kV underground electricity cables to replace the existing overhead lines. The groundworks comprised the machine excavation of a 2.10 km trench that measured 1.50 m wide and between 1.20 - 1.40 m in depth. The Route travelled across agricultural land between Crofton Farm, Great Bedwyn, Wilton, Wiltshire, SN8 3DW (NGR: 426144, 162674) and Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, SN8 3LL (NGR: 425953, 164711). The cable trench was 2.1 km in length and measured 1.50 m wide with a step, and was excavated to between 1.20m1.40m in depth. The topsoil (100) observed was consistent along the Route, comprising a mid-greyish brown, friable clayey silt with some rooting and common sub angular flint inclusions. A subsoil (101) was observed towards the northern end of the Route, and comprised a mid-orangey brown friable sandy clay with common sub angular stone. The natural substrate (102) was variable, consisting of a solid chalk with occasional large patches of yellowish brown silty sand and frequent sub angular flint inclusions at the southern end. As the Route travelled north, the natural substrate comprised a mid-orangey brown sandy clay with some chalk mixing, with frequent sub angular flint and stone inclusions. At the southern terminus of the Route, a small linear feature 103 of unknown date was observed underlying the topsoil (100). The linear was roughly east-west aligned and measured 0.86 m wide. A 1.00 m slot was hand excavated through the ditch, which contained a single fill (104), comprising a mid-greyish brown, silty clay and chalk with sub angular flint inclusions to a depth of 0.16 m. No artefacts or datable material were recovered from the feature. Approximately 5.00 m north of linear 103, the groundworks uncovered a large possible linear or discrete 105. The feature measured 4.84 m wide and due to this it was machine excavated and recorded. A single, irregular fill was observed (106) to a total depth of 1.60 m, and comprised a mid-greyish brown silty clay with a high concentration of chalk mixing. Infrequent sub angular flint inclusions were observed in the fill, but the deposit was otherwise sterile. Due to the irregularity of the infilled deposit, it was considered that this feature was likely a pre-glacial solution hollow, and not archaeological in nature. The projected route of the Roman road was found to be underlying the modern farm trackway. The section of trench excavated through this area was recorded and observed a stratigraphic sequence of initial made ground layers (107, 108) comprising dark greyish brown gravel crush and red brick material to a depth of 0.97 m. These overlay a thin band of compact chalk material (109) which was 0.08 m deep, which was underlaid by a basal layer of firm dark greyish brown sandy clay and silt (110) to a depth of 1.20 m. A slight doming effect within layer (109) was recorded as the possible roman road location. However, this could have also been caused by natural variation in ground level, as it corresponded with the trench cutting through a raised grass bank. If the Roman Road was present in this location, it is also likely that it was heavily truncated by the construction of the modern farm trackway. No other archaeological features or deposits were uncovered during the course of the archaeological monitoring. The lack of archaeological deposits can likely be attributed to the limited ground impact of the cable trench.
Isobel Davies (Wed,) studied this question.