Land at Rylston, Sewardstone Road, Waltham Abbey, Essex. Archaeological Evaluation (OASIS ID: heritage1-255159)

In response to a planning condition on the redevelopment of land at Rylston, Sewardstone Road, Waltham Abbey, Essex, E4 7RG, the Heritage Network was commissioned by ISL Planning Service, acting on behalf of Theori Investments Ltd. to undertake a programme of archaeological investigation. Planning permission for the development (EPF/0099/16) was granted by Epping Forest District Council, subject to a standard archaeological condition. A full specification for the work carried out , following guidance set out in the Archaeological brief (MM 1/6/2016), is contained in the Heritage Network's approved Project Design dated June 2016 (Phillips 2016).The site is situated approximately 2.5km to the south of the M25 and at the southern end of Sewardstone. It is located on the west side of the A112, directly opposite Chapelfield Nursery. The proposed development entailed the demolition of the two existing dwellings on the site and the erection of eight new dwellings in four blocks with ancillary access, car parking and services. four trial trenches were planned. Prior to the commencement of the evaluation, development had already started on site and thus technically breaching the terms of the planning consent. Through communication with the HEA at Essex County Council a redesigned evaluation was undertaken, which consisted of four trenches spread across the site. The trenches demonstrated a substantial amount of modern made ground spread across the entire site. This material became thicker from east to west, suggesting that the ground originally sloped and has been intentionally levelled. Below this material solid geology was revealed. Modern features were observed cutting into the natural. However, no archaeological features, deposits or finds were encountered during the course of the investigation. On this basis, the risk that the proposed development might disturb archaeological remains of any significance may be considered to be Low for all periods.

针对埃塞克斯郡沃尔瑟姆修道院斯沃德斯顿路莱尔斯顿地块（邮编E4 7RG）的土地再开发规划条件，ISL规划事务所（ISL Planning Service）受Theori投资有限公司（Theori Investments Ltd.）委托，委任遗产网络（Heritage Network）开展一系列考古调查工作。该开发项目（编号EPF/0099/16）已获埃平森林区议会（Epping Forest District Council）批准，但附带标准考古条件。本次工作的完整技术规范遵循《考古简报（MM 1/6/2016）》中的指导要求，收录于2016年6月获批的《遗产网络项目设计方案》（Phillips 2016）中。该地块大致位于M25高速公路以南2.5公里处，地处斯沃德斯顿南部末端，坐落于A112公路西侧，与查普菲尔德苗圃（Chapelfield Nursery）隔路相望。本次拟议开发内容包括拆除地块内现有2栋住宅，并新建4组共8栋住宅，配套辅助通道、停车场及相关服务设施，原计划布设4个探方。但在评估工作启动前，地块内已开始施工，此举在技术层面违反了规划许可条款。经与埃塞克斯郡议会历史环境办公室（HEA）沟通后，项目方调整了评估方案，最终在全地块范围内布设4个探方开展考古评估。探方发掘结果显示，全地块普遍分布有大量近代人工堆积层，该堆积层厚度自东向西逐渐增加，表明原始场地存在自然坡度，后经人为平整。该人工堆积层下方出露了基岩地质体，调查中发现有近代遗迹切入自然地层，但未发现任何考古遗迹、堆积或出土遗物。基于上述调查结果，本次拟议开发活动对各时期重要考古遗迹造成扰动的风险可评定为低风险等级。