Exeter Gateway, Clyst Honiton, Devon - Field Walking and Evaluation

Field walking: An archaeological fieldwalking survey was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in October 2016 at Exeter Gateway Phase 2, Clyst Honiton, Devon. The fieldwalking survey was targeted at the identification of Mesolithic and Neolithic worked flints. A total of 272 lithics was recovered.. These included cores, retouched tools and items of debitage dating from the Mesolithic to the Early Bronze Age, as well as two probable gunflints of post-medieval date. The survey recorded evidence for potential early prehistoric activity in the north-western part of the site, as well as a low background level in the rest of the site. This corresponds with the results of previous archaeological investigations of the site and its immediate environs. Evaluation: In December 2016, Cotswold Archaeology carried out an archaeological evaluation at the proposed Exeter Gateway Phase 2 site, Clyst Honiton, Devon. A total of sixteen trenches were excavated within the site. The evaluation identified five ditches in the central part of the site and a pit and a posthole near the northern site boundary. No artefactual material was recovered from any of these features. Two ditches corresponded to a curved enclosure ditch known from previous archaeological investigations at the site, when it was tentatively dated to the early post-Roman period. The remainder of the features were undated, although one ditch (corresponding to a rectilinear enclosure known from cropmarks and a previous geophysical survey) was stratigraphically later than the other features. There was evidence that the south-western part of the site had been truncated, removing any below-ground remains associated with enclosures and other potential features visible as cropmarks on historic aerial photographs.