Shardlow Quarry, Derbyshire. A Programme of Archaeological Investigations

The site comprises c. 65 hectares of land immediately southwest of the present Shardlow Quarry, in the parish of Weston-upon-Trent, Derbyshire. Topographically, it comprises two blocks of land: an area of low-lying permanent pasture to the south of the railway line and bordering the River Trent, which covers c.25 hectares; and an area of predominately arable fields on slightly higher ground, to the north of the railway line covering c. 40 hectares. The pasture meadows to the south of the railway are susceptible to complete inundation from the river during periods of severe flooding. The geology consists of alluvium and river gravels overlying Mercia Mudstone. The area is considered archaeologically sensitive and is located near to a concentration of prehistoric monuments including the Aston cursus and a number of ring ditches and barrows. To the northeast of the area, previous phases of quarrying removed the fill of a system of oxbow lakes and palaeo-channels which probably dominated the prehistoric landscape. Finds recovered included a Bronze Age logboat (the first logboat to be found at Shardlow) and fragments of a pile and brushwood causeway on a stone foundation. A number of bronzes, including axe heads, palstaves, spearheads and rapiers were also recovered from infilled channels.