Surrey Archaeological Society

Evaluation by T Collie of SCAU revealed no archaeological features or finds.

Evaluation by I Hogg of ASE revealed a series of north-east/south-west aligned Roman ditches, one of which had an associated fence line running along the ditch bottom. This feature probably dates to the 1st century AD and stratigraphic evidence suggests that there was at least one, and possibly two, additional phases of similarly aligned boundary ditches at the site. A modest assemblage of finds suggest that the ditches may have been associated with a nearby settlement and one pit produced a fairly large quantity of hammerscale, indicative of smithing activity in the area.

Strip, map and record excavation by W Weller of SCAU, a continuation of the 2016 excavations (SyAC 101, 220), revealed further significant archaeological deposits. The most notable being the Roman road, the roadside ditch of which was previously excavated. Large elements of the road surface were intact, and a camber was visible in section, together with distinct layering relating to re-metalling. A section of ditch was uncovered that contained two sherds of Late Bronze Age pottery that probably date the feature.

Evaluation by T Vieira of TVAS revealed a Bronze Age cremation burial and three linear features, one of which appeared to be of Roman date.

Historic building recording by H Samuels and S Chandler of ASE. The ammunition depot at Banstead formed one of three depots built between 1938 and 1939 to store and supply ammunition for the anti-aircraft batteries surrounding and defending London. The Banstead site supplied the South-West London sector from Dulwich to Raynes Park and included the South-East region for a short period in 1940. The site officially closed as an active storage/distribution centre in 1953. The site structures form an example of the early use of reinforced concrete for defensive military purposes.

Watching brief by T Collie of SCAU during a car park extension revealed no finds or features of archaeological interest.

Excavation and test pitting by R Hooker of SyAS, following on from two previous seasons (SyAC 101, 219), confirmed the existence of a series of ditches and further revealed their extent. Three parallel ditches oriented approximately north-east/south-west, two of which are in excess of 40m long, may form the southern boundary of an enclosure, a theory supported by the discovery of a north–south oriented ditch to their west and an apparent lack of any archaeological features to its west.