Monument record 1579400000 - W of Benthill Farm

Small anomalies identified by geophysical survey carried out in September 2022 by Headland Archaeology in advance of proposed residential development (B2).
Evaluation trial trenching carried out in September and October 2023 by Oxford Archaeology found a cluster of pits in Trenches 16 and 18. In Trench 16 three small and irregularly shaped pits with rounded bases, the largest of which appeared to be cut by a shallow E-W aligned linear feature. All were filled with similar deposits of brownish grey silty clay, with two of the pit fills containing concentrations of charcoal, with a charred hazelnut shell and cereal grains. No artefacts were identified during excavation however the environmental sampling recovered worked flints from two of the fills, a large number of burnt unworked pieces and natural chips, a small quantity of possible middle Bronze Age to Iron Age pottery, and also a small fragment of burnt Millstone Grit. An undated shallow circular pit 1.4m in diameter and 0.18m deep in Trench 18, was found about 30m south of the pit cluster in trench 16. The pit fill contained numerous burnt stones and frequent charcoal fragments, including poorly-preserved cereal grains, a heavily burnt flint flake and fragments of fired clay. See report for detail (B3).