EDO5496 - Proposed West Compton A(1) Wellsite, Litton Cheney; evaluation 2001

Terrain Archaeology carried out an archaeological assessment in order to ascertain the potential for archaeology on the site of a proposed wellsite platform, access road and junction changes to the A35 for improved entry. The evaluation comprised of three elements. These were the evaluation of the area of the proposed A35 road junction improvements, the evaluation of the geophysical survey results, and the evaluation of the proposed access track. The improvements to the A35 junction were evaluated by digging a 5m by 1.5m trench in the northeast corner of the field, which lies within 40m of a scheduled earthwork enclosure. Five trenches were excavated along the length of White Way, each measuring 30m by 1.5m. Another five trenches were excavated along the length of the proposed new access road, each 20m long by 1.5m long. This equates to 2% of the access road evaluation area. All trenches were mechanically excavated using a toothless grading bucket down to the top of any in situ archaeological deposits, or natural subsoil. Artefacts found consisted of shaped flint and chert. A surface scatter of flint including a scraper and broken axe was collected, as were in situ flints and a piece of Portland chert. This flint was almost exclusively from the proposed wellsite area. The flints, although many of them are unstratified, appear to be of late Neolithic origin. Two ditches were found in Trench 2 which may be of archaeological significance, the other features located appearing to be of natural formation.