Strip Map And Sample at Land south east of East Benton Farm

A strip, map and record exercise was undertaken in order to preserve a length of the waggonway by record ahead of the residential development of the site and to identify any ancillary structures related to the construction or use of the waggonway. Excavation in the initially selected area of 20m x 12m east of Trench 10 established that the waggonway extended beneath a fence separating the site from the adjacent field. This area was deepened to reveal the deposits beneath the waggonway (SMR 1). A second area measuring 20m x 8m west of evaluation Trench 10 was excavated to expose and record the full width of the feature (SMR 2). Both areas were machine excavated under constant archaeological supervision using an 8-tonne 360o tracked mechanical excavator fitted with a toothless ditching bucket, down to the first archaeological horizon. The exposed deposits in SMR 2 were excavated by hand and recorded; the area of SMR 1 was excavated by machine to record a broader sample of the deposits and features with and beneath the waggonway. The excavation revealed and recorded 20m of the waggonway and a further 20m length of the base of the feature. The excavation identified the construction of the waggonway, beginning with a cutting into the natural clay substrate. In SMR 1, this cut contained a clay deposit which was distinct in colour from the surrounding silty clay geology, perhaps to provide a more stable base for construction. The waggonway itself consisted of a friable gravel sub-base with a surface composed of a very firm deposit of coal fines. Ruts and subcircular marks in the clay beneath the sub-base indicate that the material was deposited from a wheeled cart. Gullies to the north and south of the waggonway appear to have been cut after the sub-base was deposited, and were potentially re-cut during their period of use, with the edges of the waggonway surface reinforced by clay deposits, perhaps to address the deterioration of the edge of the surface, which was indicated by looser deposits of coal fines. Several timbers were found within the waggonway, consistent with sleepers for the rails. The rail cuts were preserved in the upper surface of the waggonway. At the eastern end of the site, the surface appeared to have been removed when the waggonway went out of use, to allow a sufficient depth of made ground for subsequent agriculture.