School Lane, Overbury, Worcestershire. Archaeological Evaluation (OASIS ID: wessexar1-215089)

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by CgMs Consulting on behalf of Overbury Estate to undertake an archaeological evaluation on land west of School Lane, Overbury (NGR 395780, 237140) to inform a forthcoming application for residential development. A Historic Environment Record (HER) search had identified potential prehistoric and Romano British settlement close to and within a 0.5km radius of the site which lies in the core of medieval Overbury. A total of six evaluation trenches were excavated across the site. The three southern trenches (3, 4 and 6) were void of archaeological features. A narrow gully aligned north north-east to south south-west was identified in Trench 1. It is likely that the feature continues further to the north of its location and may be part of a wider system of contemporary gullies. The feature contained a single sherd of Early-middle Bronze Age pottery. A wide hollow way/trackway was identified in Trench 5. Excavation confirmed that the feature had a flat base and the lower primary fill contained a single sherd of undiagnostic prehistoric pottery confirming its creation period. It is possible that the trackway remained in use during the Romano-British period (see below). A single north-south aligned grave containing a partially revealed human skull at the northern end was identified in Trench 2. The characteristics of the grave are indicative of a Romano-British, possibly pagan burial. The burial lies to the western side of the trackway. Two previously identified Romano-British burials, 30m north of the site, may have been located on the eastern side of the same trackway. It was common practice to locate burials outside settlement areas, often along roadways during the Romano-British period.