Monument record 1559600000 - Site 17A, Doe Hill Farm

Negative geophysical survey carried out in advance of proposed residential develpoment by Headland Archaeology in October 2020 (B1).
Evaluation trial trenching by Pre Construct Archaeology in December 2020 found several medieval ditches in the northwest corner of the proposed development site, iterpreted as a livestock enclosure or similar agricultural activity, possibly related to the medieval settlement of Little Kimble to the southwest. In Trench 1 where the main focus of activity is situated, a series of intercutting ditches demonstrates several phases, although in use for a relatively short timespan. No evidence for settlement activity, or earlier remains were identified. See report for detail (B2).
Subsequent excavations by Red River Archaeology in July and August 2021 identified some residual evidence for Late Bronze Age and Roman occupation in the vicinity. The main activity on the site occurred during the late 11th century when enclosed fields with ditched boundaries began to be laid out. During the 12th to the 15th centuries the field system was expanded, with a large enclosing ditch created in the 12th century, repeatedly recut and shifted over the following 200-300 years. Environmental evidence recovered showed the surrounding agricultural landscape was similar to the present day. The molluscs recovered indicate a lack of trees, with wet and dry seasonal conditions in a broadly grassland habitat. A mixed economy is represented by animal bone and plant remains, with a preference toward cattle, with pigs and domestic fowl also being reared, alongside cultivation of cereals such as bread wheat, barley and rye, with evidence for apples, plum/damson and broad beans growing nearby. The enclosed fields seem to have been abandoned by the 16th century and during the late post-medieval period a metalled trackway was laid over the now backfilled and redundant former field systems, following a change in local farming practice toward larger more open fields. See report for detail (B3).