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Archaeological fieldwork completes on school development site
RPS was commissioned to undertake a programme of archaeological evaluation trenching and subsequent targeted excavation across an area proposed for development at a school in Bishops Stortford.
Key details
Project name
Whittington Way, Bishops Stortford South Education Zone
Client
Balfour Beatty
Location
Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire
Services provided
- Archaeological evaluation trenching and excavation
- Archaeological consultancy
Challenge
Previous phases of evaluation trenching across a wide area of the Bishops Stortford South development area had identified evidence for later Prehistoric activity as well as a likely Romano-British farmstead.
The site retained a potential for complex archaeological remains which required appropriate levels of recording prior to development. In addition, the project experienced tight timescales to ensure that development groundworks could proceed according to the agreed programme and that the school would be completed in line with overall project timescales.
Solution
Following the previous discoveries in the area, our team completed additional evaluation trenching to investigate further areas of the proposed school site. Our findings informed the requirement for archaeological mitigation measures in advance of development.
In total, six areas of archaeological excavation (mitigation) were agreed with the Hertfordshire County Archaeologist, targeted on areas of significant archaeological remains identified during trial trenching. These excavation areas have identified evidence for a Romano-British farmstead, including associated enclosures, agricultural activity and burial clusters. In addition, possible later Saxon post hole structures were also identified.
Archaeological fieldwork was completed within budget and within agreed timescales. We ensured that the work was undertaken to a high standard and that a commercial approach to the archaeology was taken throughout the project to enable development groundworks to proceed as planned.
Post excavation analysis and assessment is underway, with publication of the results to anticipated in 2021.
Timeline
2019
September - Project start
October - Phase of evaluation trial trenching
October to February 2020 - Archaeological excavation across six targeted areas
2020
February onwards - Post excavation work and analysis
Followed by publication of results alongside wider project
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