Monument record 0710200000 - North side of West Richardson Street

Evaluation trial trenching carried out by NAU Archaeology in June 2010 idetified a peat filled hollow or palaeochannel in trenches 1, 2 and 3. Radiocarbon dating of the peat suggest that the deposit formed in the Neolithic period in about 2900 to 2700 BC. Analysis of plant remains suggest that the deposit formed in damp, partly shrub-covered grassland or water-meadow conditions, whilst pollen analysis suggest that the environment in the Middle Neolithic was characterised by extensive forest cover of lime, oak and elm with dense hazel on the floodplain and woodland margins; later the woodland became more open, possibly as a result of clearance, with elm as the dominant forest tree; later again the floodplain became wetter with areas of sedge developing and finally a substantial reduction in the local forest occurred with loss of elm and oak, possibly through selective clearance, with hazel dominant on the floodplain and areas of open grassland developing. Evidence for dumping of gravels and brick and tile rubble as a make-up layer prior to residential development in the late 19th century was observed in all 6 trenches. See report for detail (B1).