Trial Trench at Common Lane Knottingley

The scope involved the excavation of 42 trenches, the majority of which measured 50m by 2m wide. Trenches 1, 5 and 11 measured 10m by 2m and were located in the north-western part of the Site. Trenches 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 40 and 44 each measured 25m long and 2m wide. Trench 41 was 50m by 4m wide and placed over a possible enclosure to test the internal anomalies. The areas were positioned to target potential archaeological anomalies identified during the geophysical survey (Fig. 2). All work was undertaken in accordance with accepted professional standards and guidelines (Historic England 2008; CIfA 2023), in accordance with the ASWYAS site recording manual (ASWYAS 2020) and in compliance with the WSI (Appendix 1). All trenches were set out and the limits resurveyed using a Trimble VRS differential GPS accurate to +/-0.01cm. The trenches were opened in a controlled manner using a 360-excavator using a flat-bladed ditching bucket under direct archaeological supervision. All topsoil deposits were removed in level spits (not more than 0.20m) with the topsoil and subsoil being separated to allow for re-instating in reverse order. Machining stopped at the first archaeological horizon or natural deposits, whichever was encountered first. All excavations of archaeological deposits were undertaken manually with the stripped surface being cleaned and investigated for archaeological remains. An appropriate sample was excavated through all archaeological features with at least a 20% sample through linear features (with a minimum sample of 1m) and a 50% sample through discrete features. These were undertaken to investigate the full depth, profile and fills, where possible, and to recover dating evidence from the fills. All excavated sections were, where possible, located adjacent to the trench edge in order to provide a full stratigraphic sequence. Spoil heaps were scanned for both ferrous and non-ferrous metal artefacts using a Minelab X-Terra 50 fitted with a 9inch 7.5kHz coil, capable of discriminating between ferrous and non-ferrous material and were operated by an experienced metal detector user. Modern artefacts were noted but not retained. A soil sampling programme was undertaken consisting of bulk soil samples for the identification of plant macro-fossils, small animal bones and other small artefacts. All samples were taken from appropriate archaeological deposits, in accordance with the WSI and Historic England guidelines. All archaeological features were accurately recorded in plan at a scale of 1:20 or 1:50. Feature sections were drawn at a scale of 1:10 or 1:20. All plans and sections include spot heights that relate to Ordnance Datum in metres. A full written, drawn and photographic record was made of all archaeological work undertaken. An inventory of the primary archive is presented in Appendix 2 and ASWYAS currently hold the Site archive in a stable and secure location. nothing of significance found