THE HERITAGE NETWORK LTD
Registered with the Institute of Field Archaeologists as an Archaeological Organisation
Archaeological Director: David Hillelson, BA MIFA
SANDY HEATH QUARRY Sandy, Beds
HN401
Archaeological Monitoring Report
Prepared on behalf of Lafarge Aggregates Ltd.
by
Chris Turner, BSC
&
Geoff Saunders, BA
Report No.190
May 2003
� The Heritage Network Ltd
12 ROYSTON ROAD, BALDOCK, HERTS. SG7 6NT
TELEPHONE: (01462) 893288 FAX: (01462) 893562
Sandy Heath Quarry, Sandy, Beds. Archaeological Monitoring Report
Contents
Summary ...................................................................................................................................... Page i
Section 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. Page 1
Section 2 Site Background .......................................................................................................................... Page 2
Section 3 Fieldwork .................................................................................................................................... Page 3
Section 4 Discussions and Conclusions ...................................................................................................... Page 6
Section 5 Illustrations .................................................................................................................. following Page 7
Acknowledgements
The fieldwork for this project was carried out by Chris Turner, Geoff Saunders, Mark Winter and Karin Semmelmann, under the supervision of Chris Turner. Illustrations were prepared by Chris Turner and Karin Semmelmann, and the report was edited by David Hillelson.
The Heritage Network would like to express its thanks to Dr Andy Richmond, Phoenix Consulting; Lafarge Aggregates Ltd; and Martin Oake, Bedfordshire County Council, for their co-operation and assistance in the execution of this project.
Summary
Site name and address: Sandy Heath Quarry, Sandy.
County:
Bedfordshire
District:
Mid Beds
Village/town:
Sandy
Parish:
Sandy
Planning reference:
n/a
NGR:
TL 200 495
Client name and address: Lafarge Aggregates Ltd, Melton Mowbray, LE14 3PD.
Nature of work: Quarrying Present land use: Heath land
Size of affected area: c. 7.7 ha Size of area investigated: c. 7.7 ha
Site Code:
HN401
Other reference:
n/a
Organisation:
Heritage Network
Site Director:
David Hillelson
Type of work:
Monitoring & recording
Curating museum:
Bedford Museum
Start of work
13 January 2003
Finish of work
25 February 2003
Related SMR Nos.:
n/a
Periods represented:
Unknown/ Post medieval?
Previous summaries/reports:
Synopsis: In response to a condition on the minerals extraction permit for an extension to Sandy Heath Quarry, Sandy, Beds, the Heritage Network was commissioned by the owners to undertake a programme of archaeological monitoring and recording on the topsoil stripping of the site. A number of known cropmarks have been recorded crossing the site. In the course of the present works, five linear features were observed, although none of these provided any dateable evidence. Three ditches appear to represent a trackway running NW-SE across the study area. A further ditch on a parallel alignment to the trackway and 95m to the southeast, may represent a contemporary field boundary. The fifth linear is probably modern.
There was no evidence of any settlement inside the limits of the present site.
Sandy Heath Quarry, Sandy, Beds. Archaeological Monitoring Report
1 Introduction
1.1 This report was prepared at the request of Phoenix Consulting Ltd, acting on behalf of Lafarge Aggregates Ltd, as part of a programme of archaeological monitoring and recording at Sandy Heath Quarry, Sandy, Bedfordshire.
1.2 The scope of the works has been defined in a written scheme of investigation prepared by Phoenix Consultancy Ltd. (Ref. PC 175B) and approved by the Bedfordshire County Archaeology Officer on behalf of the minerals planning authority.
1.3 The site covers approximately 7.7 ha and is located to the east of the River Ivel on the summit of a sand plateau, centred on OS grid reference TL 200 495. To the south runs the valley of a tributary of the Ivel, which is itself a tributary of the Great Ouse. The site lies on open heath land, which has been used for arable farming, and some parts have been used for conifer plantation and tree nurseries. The study area lies between the 55 and 65mAOD. An escarpment around the edge of the sand plateau lies approximately 1 km to the north.
1.4 The proposed works consist of an extension of an existing sand quarry located immediately to the north. No known archaeological sites lie within the limits of the study area. However, a series of cropmarks, coupled with the results of fieldwalking and trial trenching suggest that there may be limited potential for Prehistoric, Iron Age or Romano-British archaeological finds.
Sandy Heath Quarry, Sandy, Beds. Archaeological Monitoring Report
2 Site Background
GEO-TECHNICAL
2.1 The geology of the area consists of Lower Greensand (British Geological Survey, 1:50,000 series: sheet 204). Boreholes drilled for a geotechnical survey of the site recorded topsoil overlying sand (degraded ironstone) above Oxford Clay.
2.2 The outcrop of greensand coincides with a change in altitude and topography. The river Ivel valley to the west contains gravels, which, in areas adjacent to the river, are covered by alluvium. Elsewhere, away from the watercourses, the greensand is surrounded by clay: Oxford clay to the west and boulder clay to the east.
2.3 The soils within the site are classified as part of the Frilford Series. These are generally described as sandy, brown soils, well drained, but likely to be affected by summer droughts and suffer erosion where set on sloping ground.
PREVIOUS WORK
2.4 Aerial photography revealed a series of cropmarks across the present site extending into adjacent areas (Palmer, 1996). These features appear to indicate rectangular enclosures and trackways on the heath. Although some of these may be the result of 20th century military activities, others suggest Romano-British farmsteads. Some of these anomalies may have geological origins.
2.5 The results of geophysical survey were inconclusive; magnetometry and resistivity surveys did not detect any clear archaeological anomalies.
2.6 Fieldwalking survey produced worked flint dating from the Mesolithic to the early Bronze Age. However, the amount of this material collected was relatively small, and concentrated outside the present site limits. The fieldwalking also demonstrated that the area had been subjected to manuring with Medieval and Post Medieval material during the 19th century. No finds relating to the Iron Age, Romano-British or Saxon periods were recovered from the site.
2.7 In total, a programme of 26 trial trenches were excavated over the heath. Only 7 of these were inside the limits of the present site. No significant archaeological features were encountered in these trenches, although a linear feature was observed in trench 20. No conclusive dating evidence was recovered, however, which suggests that it related to the use of the site as a training ground during World War II.
Sandy Heath Quarry, Sandy, Beds. Archaeological Monitoring Report
3 Fieldwork
METHODOLOGY
3.1 All work was carried out in accordance with the approved written scheme of investigation, and in consultation with Phoenix Consulting, Lafarge Aggregates Ltd and the Bedfordshire County Archaeological Officer.
3.2 An intermittent watching brief was carried out, with the frequency of visits being dictated by the pace of the topsoil stripping.
3.3 Topsoil was removed using either box scrapers or a tracked 360o machine fitted with a toothless bucket. In order to maximise the visibility of potential archaeological features, vehicles were restricted from running across areas until they had been inspected, and areas were allowed to weather for a couple of days before being released.
3.4 In addition, areas that did not provide a reasonable level of visibility, due to factors such as weather, were recleaned before they were released.
3.5 All potential archaeological features encountered were hand excavated and recorded according to current professional standards, by written, drawn and photographic methods.
RESULTS
3.6 Over the course of the watching brief 30 contexts were recorded, representing 5 archaeological features. Group numbers were issued to features that had multiple sections excavated through them.
Stratigraphy
3.7 The stratigraphy was similar across the whole site. The topsoil was a clayey sandy silt, measuring 0.30m in depth. Beneath the overburden was a coarse yellow brown sand natural, with irregular seams and pockets of decayed natural sandstone.
Recorded Contexts
No. Type Dimensions Description Interpretation Date
1 Cut 29.4m long; 2.0m wide; 0.09-0.2m Linear, orientated NW-SE, with irregular uneven sides and base. Possible hedge row Undated
deep
2 Fill 29.4m long; 2.0m wide; 0.09-0.2m Dark greyish brown, clayey sand. Frequent irregular Fill of ditch Undated
deep sandstone fragments. Fill of cut [1]
3 Cut 25m long; 0.85m wide; 0.2m deep Linear, orientated NE-SW, with steep sides and flat base. Part of ditch group [10] Undated
Sandy Heath Quarry, Sandy, Beds. Archaeological Monitoring Report
No. Type Dimensions Description Interpretation Date
4 Fill 25m long; 0.85m wide; 0.2m deep Very dark greyish brown (10YR 3/2), clayey sand. Freq irregular Fill of ditch Undated
sandstone fragments. Fill of cut [3]
5 Cut 25m long; 0.7m wide; 0.22m deep Linear, orientated NE-SW, with steep sides and flat base. Part of ditch group [10] Undated
6 Fill 25m long; 0.7m wide; 0.22m deep Very dark greyish brown (10YR 3/2), clayey sand. Frequent Fill of ditch Undated
irregular sandstone fragments. Fill of cut [5]
7 Cut 25m long; 0.87m wide; 0.38m deep Linear, orientated NE-SW, with steep sides and flat base. Part of ditch group [10] Undated
8 Fill 25m long; 0.87m wide; 0.38m deep Very dark greyish brown (10YR 3/2), clayey sand. Frequent Fill of ditch Undated
irregular sandstone fragments. Fill of cut [7]
9
Cut
90m+ long; 2.74m wide; 0.25m deep
Linear, orientated NW-SE, slightly irregular sides and flat base
Part of ditch group [17]
Undated
10
Group
25m long; 0.8m wide; 0.38m deep
Short ditch group, orientated NE-SW containing, [3], (4); [5], (6); [7], (8)
Possible modern trench.
Undated
11
Fill
90m+ long; 2.74m wide; 0.25m deep
Dark yellowish brown (10YR 3 / 4), clayey sand. Frequent
Fill of ditch
Undated
irregular sandstone fragments. Fill of cut [9]
12 Cut 90m+ long; 3.5m wide; 0.28m deep Linear, orientated NW-SE, steep sides and flat base Part of ditch group [17] Undated
13 Fill 90m+ long; 3.5m wide; 0.28m deep Dark yellowish brown (10YR 3 / 4), clayey sand. Frequent Fill of ditch Undated
irregular sandstone fragments. Fill of cut [12]
14 Cut 90m+ long; 2.4m wide; 0.36m deep Linear, orientated NW-SE, slightly irregular sides and flat base Part of ditch group [17] Undated
15 Fill 90m+ long; 1.7m wide; 0.2m deep Dark greyish brown (2.5Y 2.5 / 1), clayey sand. Frequent Secondary ditch fill Undated
irregular sandstone fragments. Secondary fill of cut [14]
16 Fill 90m+ long; 2.4m wide; 0.16m deep Dark greyish brown (10YR 3 / 4), clayey sand. Frequent Primary ditch fill Undated
irregular sandstone fragments. Primary fill of cut [14]
17 Group 90m+ long; 3.5m wide; 0.36m deep Ditch group, orientated NW-SE containing, [9], (11); [12], (13); Northern ditch of possible Undated
[14], (15), (16) trackway
18 Cut 47.1m long; 1.3m wide; 0.1m deep Linear, orientated NW-SE, steep sides and flat base Part of ditch group [30] Undated
19 Fill 47.1m long; 1.3m wide; 0.1m deep Dark greyish brown (10YR 3 / 3), clayey sand. Frequent Fill of ditch Undated
Sandy Heath Quarry, Sandy, Beds. Archaeological Monitoring Report
No. Type Dimensions Description Interpretation Date
irregular sandstone fragments. Fill of cut [18]
20 Cut 72.6m long; 1.5m wide; 0.2m deep Linear, orientated NW-SE, steep sides and flat base Part of ditch group [30] Undated
21 Fill 72.6m long; 1.5m wide; 0.2m deep Very dark brown (10YR 2/2), clayey sand. Frequent irregular Fill of ditch Undated
sandstone fragments. Fill of cut [20]
22 Cut 72.6m long; 1.24m wide; 0.17m deep Linear, orientated NW-SE, steep sides and rounded base Part of ditch group [30] Undated
23 Fill 72.6m long; 1.24m wide; 0.17m deep Very dark brown (10YR 2/2), clayey sand. Frequent irregular Fill of ditch Undated
sandstone fragments. Fill of cut [22]
24 Cut 47.1m long; 1.26m wide; 0.27m deep Linear, orientated NW-SE, slightly irregular sides and flat base Part of ditch group [30] Undated
25 Fill 47.1m long; 1.26m wide; 0.27m deep Dark greyish brown (10YR 3 / 3), clayey sand. Frequent Fill of ditch Undated
irregular sandstone fragments. Fill of cut [24]
26 Cut 72.6m long; 1m wide; 0.1m deep Linear, orientated NW-SE, shallow sides and slightly Part of ditch group [30] Undated
rounded base
27 Fill 72.6m long; 1m wide; 0.1m deep Very dark brown (10YR 2/2), clayey sand. Frequent irregular Fill of ditch Undated
sandstone fragments. Fill of cut [26]
28 Cut 47.1m long; 1.1m wide; 0.15m deep Linear, orientated NW-SE, slightly irregular sides and flat base Part of ditch group [30] Undated
29 Fill 47.1m long; 1.1m wide; 0.15m deep Dark greyish brown (10YR 3 / 3), clayey sand. Frequent Fill of ditch Undated
irregular sandstone fragments. Fill of cut [28]
30 Group 72.6m long; 4m wide; 0.27m deep Double ditch group, orientated NW-SE containing, [18], (19); Southern ditch of possible Undated
[20], (21); [22], (23); [24], (25); [26], (27); [28], (29) trackway
FINDS CONCORDANCE
3.8 No archaeological material was recovered from any of these features. During the monitoring of the whole area, only late 19th century ceramic building material (CBM) and pottery fragments were observed. These were not recovered as it had been demonstrated that the area had been manured with this material during this period. In addition, modern brick dumps were also observed within the scrubbed out tree line that runs along the eastern margin of the existing quarry. These were also ignored, as they were clearly intrusive in nature.
Sandy Heath Quarry, Sandy, Beds. Archaeological Monitoring Report
4 Discussions and Conclusions
4.1 Despite the location of the site on heath land where settlement sites are common, and the potential indicated by cropmarks within and adjacent to the site, the results of the fieldwork have shown no evidence for a settlement on the site. The presence of a trackway, which had been indicated by cropmarks, suggests that further cropmarks on land adjacent to the current site may also represent genuine features.
4.2 The trackway consisted of two ditch groups running parallel to each other, c.15m apart, on a northwest to southeast alignment. Ditch group [17] formed the northern edge of the trackway and was over 90m long by 3.5m wide by 0.36m deep. Ditch group [30] was made up of a double ditch that formed the southern edge of the trackway and measured 72.6m long by 4m wide by 0.27m deep. The ditch cuts were irregular in nature showing signs of feathering possibly indicating heavy root disturbance. Neither of the two ditch groups produced any archaeological material, to clarify their date.
4.3 Ditch [01] measured 29.4m in length by 2.0m in width and varied in depth between 0.09 and 0.2m. It ran on a northwest to southeast alignment parallel to the trackway at approximately 95m to the southeast. The sides of the cut were irregular and showed signs of feathering which may indicate this feature as the remains of a hedgerow. Due to the similarity of the alignments it is possible that the ditch represents a field boundary contemporary with the trackway
4.4 Ditch group [10] measured 25m long by 0.8m wide by 0.38m deep and was orientated on a northeast to southwest alignment. Due to the nature of the steep sides and flat base of this feature it has been interpreted as a modern trench possibly associated with the sites use as a military training ground during World War II.
4.5 A flint scraper, recovered unstratified c.50m to the north of the trackway, and to the
east of the modern footpath, measured 0.42m long by 0.34m wide by 0.05m deep and showed signs of retouch. The apparent lack of further chance finds suggests that there was no intensive settlement on the site.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL IMPACT
4.6 Due to the nature of the sand extraction, all stratigraphic layers that may contain potential archaeological features will be removed during the quarrying process.
CONFIDENCE RATING
4.7 Despite periods of bad weather, the conditions affecting the visibility of the archaeology were generally fair to good. There were no circumstances that would lead to a confidence rating for the work that was less than high.
Sandy Heath Quarry, Sandy, Beds. Archaeological Monitoring Report
5 Illustrations
Figure 1 ....................................................................... Site location plan
Figure 2 .............. Cropmarks, evaluation trenches and investigated area
Figure 3 ..................................................................................... Site plan
Figure 4 ............................................. Plan of ditch groups [17] and [30]
Figure 5 (a) ........................................................ Plan and section of [18]
(b) ....................................................... Plan and section of [20]
Figure 6 (a) ........................................................ Plan and section of [12]
(b) ....................................................... Plan and section of [14]
Figure 7 .............................................................. Plan and section of [9]
Figure 8 (a) ............................................................... Plan of feature [10]
(b) ............................................ Sections of [03], [05] and [07]
Figure 9 ......................................... Sections of [22], [24], [26], and [28]
THE HERITAGE NETWORK LTD Sandy Heath Quarry, Sandy HN401
SANDY
Bedford
BEDFORDSHIRE
Dunstable
Luton
TL 50
SITE
TL 49
TL 19 TL 20
Site Location Scale 1:1250
THE HERITAGE NETWORK LTD Sandy Heath Quarry, Sandy HN401
0 100m
Area of investigation
Cropmarks, evaluation trenches & area of investigation Scale 1:5000 Figure 2
THE HERITAGE NETWORK LTD Sandy Heath Quarry, Sandy HN401
Bund
Modern
Track
Flint Scraper
Tree Bund
Line
Feature group [17]
Feature group [30 ]
Existing Quarry Tree
line
Feature [1]
Feature group [10]
Areas of root disturbance
Limits of the site
Archaeological Feature
0 50m
Unstratified find
Scale 1:2500
Site plan
Figure 3
THE HERITAGE NETWORK LTD Sandy Heath Quarry, Sandy HN401
Edge of excavation
30
28
17
26
14
18
20
12
24
22 09
Edge of excavation
0 30m
THE HERITAGE NETWORK LTD Sandy Heath Quarry, Sandy HN401
SW NE
19
18
61.58
61.45
Sandstone
18
0 50cm
Scale 1:20
Plan & section of feature [18]
Figure 5a
SW NE
21
20
61.54
20 61.35
0 50cm
Scale 1:20
Plan & section of feature [20]
THE HERITAGE NETWORK LTD Sandy Heath Quarry, Sandy HN401
NE SW
13
12
60.90
60.65
12
0 50cm
Scale 1:40
Plan & section of feature [12]
Figure 6a
NE SW
15
16
14
61.43
14
61.15
0 50cm
Scale 1:40
Plan & section of feature [14]
THE HERITAGE NETWORK LTD Sandy heath quarry, Sandy. Beds HN401
10 07
03 05
0 2 m
Scale 1:100
Edge of Excavation
N S N S S N
04 06
08
03 05
07
0 0.5 m
Scale 1:20
THE HERITAGE NETWORK LTD Sandy Heath Quarry, Sandy HN401
03 10 07
05
Limit of Site
0 3m
Scale 1:100
Plan of feature [10]
Figure 8a
West facing section of [03] West facing section of [05] East facing section of [07]
N S N S S N
06
04
08
03 05
07
0 50cm
Scale 1:20 Figure 8b
THE HERITAGE NETWORK LTD Sandy Heath Quarry, Sandy HN401
SW NE
27
29
26
28
SW NE
23 25
22
24
0 1m
Scale 1:40 Figure 9