Land at Radford Semele, Warwick, Warwickshire. Archaeological Evaluation (OASIS ID: cotswold2-251488)

Between November and December 2015, an archaeological evaluation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology on land at Radford, Semele, Warwick, Warwickshire. The work was carried out in order to inform a planning application for the construction of a solar farm with associated infrastructure. The fieldwork comprised the excavation of thirty-two trenches. Archaeological interest in the site is derived from its location close to the buried remains of a Bronze Age burnt mound dated through radiocarbon dating to around 950 BC. Subsequent geophysical survey revealed a number of anomalies of potential archaeological origin within the current evaluation and in the field to the south. Where archaeological features were encountered during the current trenching there was a good correlation with the results of the preceding geophysical survey. The earliest features encountered were undated pits located towards the southern boundary of the site. These were sealed beneath an extensive alluvial deposit. The evaluation identified ditches and agricultural features across the site. The alignments of these ditches suggest a co-axial field system aligned broadly north-east/south-west, north/south and east/west, forming parts of three contiguous fields. No dateable material was recovered from the features, which are attributed to the medieval and post-medieval/modern periods based on cartographic evidence and morphological characteristics. The remaining field boundary ditches, furrows and land drains fit within the general alignment of the surrounding field systems depicted on historic and current Ordnance Survey mapping.