Archaeological watching brief during the construction of a railway bridge, 53m of new carriageway to the west of the railway line and a temporary haul road along the line of the planned distributor road (Figure 1), plus the haul road crossing the northern section of the St John's, South Lichfield development site. The planning application was supported by a Heritage Statement, which concluded that there was potential for archaeological remains, including that associated with the former line of the Wyrley and Essington Canal, to be encountered along the line of the haul road and working area at the railway bridge. It identified that, given the archaeological potential of the wider area, further archaeological mitigation would be required. The Staffordshire County Archaeologist confirmed that this would most appropriately take the form of a watching brief on ground stripping works. The former line of the Wyrley and Essington Canal was not identified during the watching brief. It is thought to lie beneath subsoil which was not removed. Plough scars relating to the modern agricultural use of the land were identified. No pre-modern archaeological features, deposits, structures or artefacts were encountered, however, archaeological remains may exist at depths below those of this excavation.
A Shepherd (Wed,) studied this question.