5000 years of history revealed in West Yorkshire excavations
Beforeย startingย the construction of a new residential developmentย in Mickletown, West Yorkshire,ย Barratt David Wilson Homes Yorkshire Westย neededย to mitigateย any riskย ofย damageย toย or destruction of potential heritage assets. Consultantย Prospect Archaeology commissioned the project on behalf of its clientย and awarded the mitigation excavation to Headland Archaeology, an RSK company.ย
The project was complicated by poor site conditions andย many moreย complex archaeological features than anticipated,ย allย combined with a challenging deadline. Thisย meant that a flexible approach to resourcing and staffing was required to complete theย siteย workย within the allotted timeย frame.ย
The excavations were the first large project carried out by Headlandโs Leeds officeย in the Yorkshire region. The fieldwork was conducted in 2016;ย the assessments and analysis were completed by summer 2017. The excavations, at seven discrete locationsย covering just over 1 ha of land, revealed several phases of human activityย spanning roughly 5000 years,ย from the late Neolithic/early Bronze Age through to the Iron Age, Roman, post-medieval and modern periods.ย Various features,ย including a pit alignment,ย aย ring-ditch, boundary ditches and numerous small external pits,ย were excavated in the central and eastern parts of the site. Post-medieval activityย consisting ofย a well and a stone-built structure was present in the north-western corner of the site.ย ย
Notable finds were three complete 18th-century Blackware jugsย thatย were deliberately placed in the foundation cut of a wall.ย Althoughย the artefactual material recovered during theย fieldworkย was sparse, effective environmental sampling and radiocarbonย dating have helped to provide a chronology for the site, thus providing a snapshot of the activities and developmentย over 5000 yearsย from the early Bronze Age through to the Roman period and then much later in the post-medieval and modern periods.ย
This work satisfied the attached planning condition, soย the client was able to go ahead with theย planned programme of work;ย the houses are now built and available for residence.ย ย