Charlestown

NH 6414 4860 An evaluation was undertaken, 6–28 May 2008, to investigate cropmarks identified on aerial photographs. 81 trenches and 17 test pits were excavated across three fields, with targeted trenching of one of the cropmarks interpreted as a bivallate enclosure. The trenches in the first field uncovered several features thought to be associated with the enclosure, including two curvilinear features, which were severely

truncated. Small groups of postholes in the vicinity and a large pit with two in situ burning events were interpreted as evidence of settlement activity. Metalworking debris was also recovered from the pit and environmental evidence indicated a later prehistoric date. A group of postholes to the E of the enclosure suggested settlement activity elsewhere in the field and in the vicinity of another cropmark, which could not be

trenched because of overhead power lines.

An enclosure, represented by a palisade ditch with in situ packing stones, was found in the second field. This was on an area of high ground. An arc of postholes and two stone-filled pits to the W suggested that a settlement may have spread across this high ground. The third field contained very limited archaeological remains and appears to have been subject to quarrying and reinstatement in the recent past.

Funder: Tulloch Homes Ltd

Ross Murray (Headland Archaeology Ltd), 2008