Surrey Archaeological Society

Evaluation by M Dover of SCAU, for Spelthorne Housing Association, in advance of residential development. A shallow gulley containing Late Bronze Age pottery was revealed in two of the trenches. A subsequent watching brief on the development revealed no further features or finds of archaeological interest.

Evaluation by G Hayman of SCAU, for Taylor Woodrow Property, in advance of the redevelopment. At the rear of the site, two intercutting ditches of possibly Roman date were revealed; at the front of the site, one medieval and one undated ditch were revealed. A few sherds of prehistoric pottery were also recovered.

Excavation by G Hayman of SCAU, for Tasman House Developments Ltd, in advance of redevelopment of a site that was partially evaluated in 1994.

Watching brief by G Hayman and J Stevenson of SCAU, for Greenham Construction Materials Ltd., during the construction of a lake. Athough no features were discovered, this barrenness is likely to be a result of repeated flooding scouring the landscape and effectively washing such evidence away. There was certainly past activity on the site, as evidenced by the number of finds, albeit redeposited, ranging from the Neolithic to medieval recovered during the watching brief.

Excavation and a subsequent limited watching brief by M Dover of SCAU, and geoarchaeological and palynological investigations by ArchaeoScape Consulting, for the Clerical and Medical Investment Group, in advance of office redevelopment. The earliest evidence recovered from the site was a collection of prehistoric flints. The earliest features identified were two human burials, one a double inhumation - possibly a parent and child. These burials are probably outliers from a more formal cemetery, outside the Roman town, that has not as yet been located.

Excavation by J Grove of Wessex, for MEPC UK Ltd, in advance of redevelopment. Earlier Roman activity (1st-2nd century) was found to be restricted to higher land at the southern end of the site. Here, a number of refuse pits and a series of gulleys and ditches were revealed, as well as two occupation surfaces and a possible oven. An episode of flooding separated these features from those of mid Roman date (2nd century), which were also concentrated on the higher ground.

Excavation by J McKinley of Wessex, for MEPC UK Ltd, in advance of redevelopment. At the front of the site a few features of Late Iron Age date were revealed, sealed below a ploughsoil. Above this soil a series of floor levels associated with hearths, pits and post holes was identified, all of early Romano-British date. Further back from the street frontage, a quantity of intercutting pits of early Romano-British date were revealed, which contained a quantity of domestic rubbish.

Excavation of pile cap positions by J Grove of Wessex, for MEPC UK Ltd, in advance of redevelopment, provided a sample transect to complement the archaeology revealed by excavations to the east (see below). Similar stratigraphy to that revealed in the main excavations was recorded.

A watching brief was maintained by J Stevenson of SCAU, for SCC, on the groundworks associated with a pedestrianisation scheme. A large degree of modern disturbance was revealed, indicating that archaeological features which almost certainly formerly existed in this area of the town had been destroyed.

Evaluation by G Hayman of SCAU, for Dusco Asset Management, of land proposed for an extension to the Elmsleigh Centre. A trench immediately west of the existing building found that beneath the levels of modern disturbance only 18th to 19th century deposits survived above natural silts. At the northern end of this trench the edge of the 1974-5 Elmsleigh House excavation was revealed. An auger survey was carried out to determine the depth at which gravel underlay the silts.