Tanners Brook School, Southampton. Archaeological Watching Brief (SOU1705)

The Archaeology Unit of Southampton City Council carried out a watching brief in February and March 2016 on groundworks for the construction of a new classroom at Tanners Brook School. The work was commissioned by Southampton City Council. The natural river terrace gravels were overlaid by brickearth, but the brickearth had been removed over much of the site. Late 19th century maps show brickfields to the east of the site and it is likely it was quarried away on the site as well. Four features were found cutting into the gravel; three pits and a possible ditch. All contained small amounts of burnt flint, and a prehistoric date is likely. The features were sealed by early modern deposits that included 19th century domestic finds. A few fragments of Anglo-Norman and High Medieval pottery suggest the area was ploughed and manured in the 12th to 14th centuries. The archive contains text documents, raster images and an Access database. No finds were retained for the permanent archive. The paper archive and the photographic archive; comprised of black and white negatives and colour slides, were deposited with Southampton City Council Museums archaeological collections.