Land Adjacent to 11 Bourne Road, Southampton, Hampshire. Archaeological Watching Brief. (SOU1779) (OASIS ID: wessexar1-302957)

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Welben Ltd ('the client'), to undertake an archaeological watching brief during groundworks associated with the development of land adjacent to 11 Bourne Road, Southampton, SO15 3AB, centred on National Grid Reference (NGR) 440970 112375. The development comprises the erection of a 2-storey building to provide 2 x two bedroom flats with associated bin and cycle storage and amenity space. The archaeological watching brief monitored the excavation of foundation trenches for the new building and a soakaway. The stratigraphic sequence observed consisted of natural underlying geology of sandy gravel viewed at a depth of 0.90m below ground level (between 13.44m aOD and 13.28m aOD), this was subsequently overlain by a buried subsoil and topsoil and then a band of modern made ground. The made ground was a result of the use of the site as off-road parking and demolition of number 9 Bourne Road. The buried topsoil also contained building rubble that likely relates to the demolition of number 9 Bourne Road. The watching brief established that no intact brickearth was present on the site either as a result of truncation and removal through development of the site or due to it not having formed in this specific area within the confines of the site and area observed. No archaeological features or deposits were observed during the course of the archaeological watching brief.