Land West of Bridge Street, Wellesbourne, Warwickshire. Archaeological Evaluation (OASIS ID: cotswold2-209693)

In January 2015, Cotswold Archaeology carried out an archaeological evaluation of land west of Bridge Street, Wellesbourne, Warwickshire. Seven trenches were excavated within the evaluation site. There is evidence that a Saxon palace or other notable building stood in Wellesbourne and the evaluation site has been suggested as the possible location of this putative building. Low linear earthworks and a level platform are present in the site. One of the linear earthworks is in the location of a field boundary visible on a map of 1733. A geophysical survey of the site noted a number of anomalies of possible archaeological origin, some of which corresponded to the linear earthworks. The evaluation recorded several shallow ditches, two wide ditches and a single probably pit at the site. There was a broad correspondence with the results of the geophysical survey. Artefactual material was almost absent, although one ditch contained two sherds of Roman pottery. The majority of the shallow ditches are likely to represent minor drainage or boundary features within an Iron Age/roman agricultural field system. There was no evidence for any Saxon or medieval activity at the site. The evaluation recorded an increased depth of topsoil and subsoil layers in the locations of the earthworks at the site. One linear earthworks was found to overlie at least two wide ditches, which were in the location of a field boundary depicted on the 1733 map. The remaining linear earthworks overlay ephemeral ditches. There were no archaeological remains associated with the earthworks platform.

2015年1月，科茨沃尔德考古（Cotswold Archaeology）对英国沃里克郡韦尔斯本布里奇街西侧地块开展考古勘探评估（archaeological evaluation），本次勘探共布设并发掘7条探沟。现有证据表明，韦尔斯本地区曾存在撒克逊宫殿或其他重要建筑，本次勘探地块被推定为该疑似建筑的潜在坐落位置。地块内现存低矮线性土筑遗存（linear earthworks）与一处平整台地，其中一条线性土筑遗存与1733年地图上可见的田界位置重合。对该地块开展的地球物理勘探（geophysical survey）发现多处疑似具有考古学背景的异常特征，其中部分与线性土筑遗存的位置相对应。本次勘探共记录到多条浅沟、2条宽沟及1处疑似坑穴，勘探结果与地球物理勘探的发现具有较高吻合度。出土人工遗物近乎无存，仅在一条沟内出土2片罗马陶器残片。多数浅沟大概率为铁器时代-罗马时期农田系统内的小型排水或界址遗存。该地块未发现撒克逊或中世纪时期人类活动的痕迹。本次勘探还观测到，地块内土筑遗迹所在区域的表土层与亚土层厚度有所增加。其中一条线性土筑遗存叠压于至少2条宽沟之上，该宽沟的位置与1733年地图上标注的田界一致；剩余的线性土筑遗存则叠压于临时性浅沟之上。该土筑遗迹台地未关联到任何考古遗存。