Post-medieval furrow or ditch, North of Marsh Road (EHER 81266)

Trial trenching in 2019 and excavation in 2021 recorded a single plough furrow or possible minor ditch in Trench 24. The lack of intrusive impact suggests an open landscape, but this single feature is not sufficient evidence to suggest land use.

October 2019. Trial trenching. A post-medieval agricultural furrow and a small number of unstratified finds were recorded. <1> February-March 2021. Archaeological excavation. A single narrow and shallow linear cut in Trench 24 of the evaluation was interpreted as a possible post-medieval plough furrow. Orientated N-S, it was 0.32m wide by 0.11m deep with a V-shaped profile. Its fill produced a single fragment of glazed red earthenware that could only be dated as broadly post-medieval. Even though it is very scant evidence, this feature attests to the agricultural use of the site during this period. As no contemporary boundary features were exposed which subdivide the present field, an open landscape has been suggested during this period; although it is highly likely that the contemporary landscape featured enclosed agricultural fields. The field boundary as it exists today is depicted from at least the 1873 OS map. <2>