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Report No. 06005: 2 Church Lane, Bardsey, Leeds; Archaeological
Evaluation. June 2006
Report Author: Guy Hopkinson.
Web version (in preparation).
West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service: Specification for an Archaeological
Evaluation (Trial Trenching) at 2 Church Lane, Bardsey.
Specification prepared
on behalf of Leeds City Council at the request of Mr Ben Smith of Park Lane
Homes Ltd (Planning ref: P/06/00335/FU/E).
1.1 A limited amount of archaeological work consisting of trial trenching (2 trenches) is proposed to help establish the archaeological significance of the above site. Any further work arising from the results of the evaluation will be covered by a further specification.
1.2 This specification has been prepared by the curatorial branch of the West Yorkshire Sites and Monuments Record.
Grid Reference: SE 3679 4327
2.1 Bardsey is located 12km north of Leeds city centre. The proposed development site lies on the eastern side of the village. The site is No. 2 Church Lane which occupies 1760m 2 of land bounded to the south by Church Lane, to the east by Cornmill Lane, to the west and north by boundaries with No. 4 Church Lane and 1 Castle Close, respectively.
2.2 Under the current proposals the existing house is to be demolished and three detached houses will be constructed. Vehicle access is gained via the driveway of the existing property.
3.1 An application for planning approval (ref: P/06/00335/FU/E) for the construction of three detached houses with integral garages has been submitted to Leeds City Council.
3.2 The Planning Authority was advised by WYAAS that there is reason to believe that important archaeological remains may be affected by the proposed development and that an archaeological evaluation is required prior to construction. WYAAS recommended that the archaeological work should be a condition to the planning consent.
3.3 This specification has been prepared by WYAAS, at the request of Mr Ben Smith of Park Lane Homes Ltd (87 Wike Ridge Lane, Slaid Hill, Leeds LS17 8TX), to detail what is required and to enable an archaeological contractor to provide a quotation.
4.1 Information held in the County Sites and Monuments Record shows that the proposed development site lies within an area of high archaeological potential.
4.2 The site lies only 100m southeast of the boundary of a Scheduled Monument - Castle Hill Motte and Bailey Castle. Excavations have revealed that there was once a substantial stone tower ('keep') on the site which has been dated to the late 12 th century. The site's scheduled status reflects its national importance. It must be noted that the original castle boundary almost certainly extended beyond the current scheduled area.
4.3 All Hallows Church in Bardsey has Anglo-Saxon origins. Early settlement in Bardsey is likely to have clustered between the castle and the church, and along Church Lane (and also Woodacre Lane).
5.1 The aim of the evaluation is to gather sufficient information to establish the extent, condition, character and date (as far as circumstances permit) of any archaeological features and deposits within the area of interest.
5.2 The information gained will allow the Planning Authority to make a reasonable and informed decision with regard to whether archaeological deposits should be recorded prior to destruction (whether this be a summary record from a salvage excavation or watching brief, or a detailed record from full open area excavation).
6.1 Health and Safety
6.1.1 The archaeologist on site will naturally operate with due regard for Health and Safety regulations. This work may require the preparation of a Risk Assessment of the site, in accordance with the Health and Safety at Work Regulations. The West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service and its officers cannot be held responsible for any accidents that may occur to outside contractors while attempting to conform to this specification.
6.2 Location of Services, etc.
6.2.1 The archaeological contractors will be responsible for locating any drainage pipes, service pipes, cables etc. which may cross any of the trench lines, and for taking the necessary measures to avoid disturbing such services.
6.3 Confirmation of Adherence to Specification
6.3.1 Prior to the commencement of any work, the archaeological contractor must confirm adherence to this specification in writing to the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service, or state (with reasons) any proposals to vary the specification. Should the contractor wish to vary the specification, then written confirmation of the agreement of the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service to any variations is required prior to work commencing. Unauthorised variations are made at the sole risk of the contractor. Modifications presented in the form of a re-written specification/project design will not be considered by the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service. Any technical queries arising from the specification detailed below should be addressed to the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service without delay.
6.4 Confirmation of Timetable and Contractors' Qualifications
6.4.1 Prior to the commencement of any work, the archaeological contractor must provide WYAAS in writing with:
6.4.2 All project staff provided by the archaeological contractor must be suitably qualified and experienced for their roles. The timetable should be adequate to allow the work to be undertaken to the appropriate professional standard, subject to the ultimate judgement of WYAAS.
6.5 Notification
6.5.1 WYAAS should be provided with as much notice as possible in writing (and certainly not less than one week) of the intention to start work. A copy of the archaeological contractor's risk assessment of the site should accompany the notification.
6.5.2 The Leeds Museums Curator of Archaeology, Katherine Baxter, should be notified of the date of commencement of fieldwork (Tel.: 0113 2305492; email: katherine.baxter@leeds.gov.uk).
6.5.3 As a courtesy, English Heritage's Regional Science Adviser, lan Panter, should also be notified of the intention to commence fieldwork. (Tel.: 01904 601983; email. ian.panter@english-heritage.org.uk).
6.6 Documentary Research
6.6.1 Prior to the commencement of fieldwork, the SMR should be visited by either the project manager or the site supervisor, in order to gain an overview of the archaeologicallhistorical background of the site and environs. In addition to providing a knowledge base for the work in hand, the results of this assessment may be incorporated into the contractor's report where they are considered to contribute to that report, but any extraneous material should be omitted. Please note that the SMR makes a charge for consultations of a commercial nature. The results of this exercise should be used to inform the whole project. A formal desk-based report is not required and the results of this stage of work should be incorporated in the final report.
7.1 Trench Size and Placement (Figure 2)
7.1.1 The work will involve the excavation of one 20m x 2m trench and one 25m x 2m trench, which can be machine-opened. The contractor should also allow for a contingency amount of 15 square metres. The use of the contingency will depend upon the results obtained in the initial trial trenching. The use of the contingency will be at the decision of the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service, whose decision will be issued in writing, if necessary in retrospect after site discussions. Proposed trench locations are shown on Figure 2.
Trench No |
Dimensions (m) |
Area (m) |
1 |
2 x 20 |
40 |
2 |
2 x 25 |
50 |
Total site area: 1760m2
Total area of trenching: 90m2
Contingency trenching: 15m2
7.2 Method of Excavation
7.2.1 The trial trenches may be opened and the topsoil and recent overburden removed down to the first significant archaeological horizon in successive level spits of a maximum 0.2m thickness, by the use of an appropriate machine using a wide toothless ditching blade. Under no circumstances should the machine be used to cut arbitrary trenches down to natural deposits. All machine work must be carried out under direct archaeological supervision and the machine halted if significant archaeological deposits are encountered. The top of the first significant archaeological horizon may be exposed by the machine, but must then be cleaned by hand and inspected for features and then dug by hand.
7.2.2 No archaeological deposits should be entirely removed unless this is unavoidable in achieving the objectives of this evaluation, although all features identified are expected to be half-sectioned and the full depth of archaeological deposits must be assessed. The contractor should make provision for the use of shoring/stepping to accomplish this if necessary.
7.2.3 All artefacts are to be retained for processing except unstratified 20 th -century material, which may be noted and discarded. Suitable samples for dating should be taken if encountered during trenching.
7.3 Method of Recording
7.3.1 The trenches are to be recorded according to the normal principles of stratigraphic excavation. The stratigraphy of each trial trench is to be recorded even where no archaeological deposits have been identified.
7.3.2 The actual areas of trenching and any features of possible archaeological concern noted within the trenches should be accurately located on a site plan and recorded by photographs, summary scale drawings and written descriptions sufficient to permit the preparation of a report on the material. The site grid is to be accurately tied into the National Grid and located on the largest scale map available of the area (either 1:2500 or 1:1250).
7.4 Use of Metal Detectors on Site
7.4.1 Spoil heaps are to be scanned for non-ferrous and non-ferrous metal artefacts using a metal detector capable of making this discrimination, operated by an experienced metal detector user (if necessary, operating under the supervision of the contracting archaeologist). Modern artefacts are to be noted but not retained (19 th century material and earlier should be retained.)
7.4.2 If a non-professional archaeologist is to be used to carry out the metal detecting, a formal agreement of their position as a sub-contractor working under direction must be agreed in advance of their use on site. This formal agreement will apply whether they are paid or not. To avoid financial claims under the Treasure Act a suggested wording for this formal agreement with the metal detectorist is: "In the process of working on the archaeological investigation at [ location of site ] between the dates of [ insert dates ], [ name of person contributing to project ] is working under direction or permission of [ name of archaeological organisation ] and hereby waives all rights to rewards for objects discovered that could otherwise be payable under the Treasure Act 1996."
7.5 Environmental Sampling Strategy
7.5.1 Deposits must be sampled for retrieval and assessment of the preservation conditions and potential for analysis of all bio-archaeological remains. A sampling strategy must be agreed with a recognised bio-archaeologist, and the sampling methods should follow the procedures outlined by English Heritage in the Centre for Archaeology Guidelines no.1 (2002), "Environmental Archaeology. A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Methods, from Sampling and Recovery to Post-excavation". Provision should be also be made for the specialist to visit the site and discuss the sampling strategy, if necessary.
7.6 Conservation Strategy
7.6.1 A conservation strategy must be developed in collaboration with a recognised laboratory. All finds must be assessed in order to recover information that will contribute to an understanding of their deterioration and hence preservation potential, as well as identifying potential for further investigation. Furthermore, all finds must be stabilised and packaged in accordance with the requirements of the receiving museum. As a guiding principle only artefacts of a "displayable" quality would warrant full conservation, but metalwork and coinage from stratified contexts would be expected to be X-rayed if necessary, and conservation costs should also be included as a contingency.
7.7 Human Remains
7.7.1 Any human remains that are discovered must initially be left in-situ, covered and protected. The West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service will be notified. If removal is necessary, this must comply with the relevant legislation and any Home Office and local environmental health regulations.
7.8 Treasure Act
7.8.1 The terms of the Treasure Act 1996 must be followed with regard to any finds that might fall within its purview. Any finds must be removed to a safe place and reported to the local coroner as required by the procedures as laid down in the "Code of Practice". Where removal cannot be effected on the same working day as the discovery, suitable security measures must be taken to protect the finds from theft.
7.9 Unexpectedly Significant or Complex Discoveries
7.9.1 Should there be unexpectedly significant or complex discoveries made that warrant, in the professional judgement of the archaeologist on site, more detailed recording than is appropriate within the terms of this specification, then the archaeological contractor should urgently contact the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service with the relevant information to enable them to resolve the matter with the developer.
7.10 Access/Monitoring Arrangements
7.10.1 The representative of the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service will be afforded access to the site at any reasonable time. It is usual practice that the visit is arranged in advance, but this is not always feasible. The Advisory Service's representative will be provided with a site tour and an overview of the site by the senior archaeologist present and should be afforded the opportunity to view all trenches, any finds made that are still on site, and any records not in immediate use. It is anticipated that the records of an exemplar context that has previously been fully recorded will be examined. Any observed deficiencies during the site visit are to be made good to the satisfaction of the Advisory Service's representative, by the next agreed site meeting. Access is also to be afforded at any reasonable time to English Heritage's Regional Archaeological Science Advisor.
8.1 Before commencing any fieldwork, the archaeological contractor must determine the requirements for the deposition of the evaluation archive. Leeds Museums and Galleries do not currently accept archives resulting from archaeological fieldwork and discussions are continuing as to the most appropriate location for the excavation archive. In this instance WYAAS will take the archive but the requirements of the Leeds Museums and Galleries are to be adhered to (see Appendix 1).
8.2 The deposition of the archive must be accompanied by a storage fee, currently £113 per standard box, payable to West Yorkshire Joint Services.
8.3 The archaeological contractor should give representatives of the Leeds Museums and Galleries sufficient notice of start of works so that they may visit the site to view work in progress, talk to staff and take photographs.
8.4 It is the responsibility of the archaeological contractor to endeavour to obtain consent of the landowner, in writing, to the deposition of finds with a public body, initially WYAAS, but eventually it is hoped, with Leeds City Museums.
8.5 It is the responsibility of the archaeological contractor to meet Leeds Museums' requirements with regard to the preparation of fieldwork archives for deposition (see Appendix 1).
9.1 Finds and Samples
9.1.1 On completion of the fieldwork, any samples taken shall be processed and any finds shall be cleaned, identified, assessed analysed, dated (if possible), marked (if appropriate) and properly packed and stored in accordance with the requirements of national guidelines. Finds of 19 th and 20 th century date should be noted, quantified and summarily described, but can then be discarded if appropriate. All finds which are of 18 th century or earlier date should be retained and archived.
9.1.2 A fully indexed field archive shall be compiled consisting of all primary written documents, plans, sections, photographic negatives and a complete set of labelled photographic prints/slides. An index to the field archive is to be deposited with the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service (preferably as an appendix in the report). The original archive is to accompany the deposition of any finds, providing the landowner agrees to the deposition of finds in a publicly accessible archive (see para. 8.4 above). In the absence of this agreement the field archive (less finds) is to be deposited with the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service.
9.2 Report Format and Content
9.2.1 A report should be produced, which should include background information on the need for the project, a description of the methodology employed, and a full description and interpretation of results produced. It is not envisaged that the report is likely to be published, but it should be produced with sufficient care and attention to detail to be of academic use to future researchers.
9.2.2 Location plans should be produced at a scale which enables easy site identification and which depicts the full extent of the site investigated (a scale of 1:50,000 is not regarded as appropriate unless accompanied by a more detailed plan or plans). Site plans should be at an appropriate scale showing trench layout (as dug), features located and, where possible, predicted archaeological deposits. Upon completion of each evaluation trench all sections containing archaeological features will be drawn. Section drawings (at a minimum scale of 1:20) must include heights O.D. Plans (at a minimum scale of 1:50) must include O.D. spot heights for all principal strata and any features. Where no archaeological deposits are encountered at least one long section of each trench will be drawn.
9.2.3 Artefact analysis is to include the production of a descriptive catalogue with finds critical for dating and interpretation illustrated.
9.2.4 Details of the style and format of the report are to be determined by the archaeological contractor, but should include a full bibliography, a quantified index to the site archive, and as an appendix, a copy of this specification.
9.3 Summary for Publication
9.3.1 The attached summary sheet should be completed and submitted to the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service for inclusion in the summary of archaeological work in West Yorkshire to be published on WYAAS's website.
9.4 Publicity
9.4.1 If the project is to be publicised in any way (including media releases, publications etc.), then it is expected that the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service will be given the opportunity to consider whether it wishes its collaborative role to be acknowledged, and if so, the form of words used will be at the Advisory Services' discretion.
9.5 Consideration of Appropriate Mitigation Strategy
9.5.1 The report should not give a judgement on whether preservation or further investigation is considered appropriate, but should provide an interpretation of results, placing them in a local and regional, and if appropriate, national context. However, a client may wish to separately commission the contractor's view as to an appropriate treatment of the resource identified.
10.1 A copy of the report is to be supplied directly to the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service within a period of two months following completion of fieldwork, unless specialist reports are awaited. In the latter case a revised date should be agreed with the Advisory Service. Completion of this project and advice from WYAAS on an appropriate mitigation strategy are dependant upon receipt by WYAAS of a satisfactory report which has been prepared in accordance with this specification. Any comments made by WYAAS in response to the submission of an unsatisfactory report will be taken account of in finalising the report, within a timescale which has been agreed with WYAAS.
10.2 The report will be supplied on the understanding that it will be added to the County Sites and Monuments Record and will become a public document after an appropriate period of time (generally not exceeding six months).
10.3 A copy of the final report shall also be supplied to English Heritage's Regional Science Advisor (lan Panter, English Heritage, 37 Tanner Row, York Y01 6WP).
11.1 Authorised Alterations to Specification by Contractor
11.1.1 It should be noted. that this specification is based upon records available in the County Sites and Monuments Record and on a brief examination of the site by the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service. Archaeological contractors submitting tenders should carry out an inspection of the site prior to submission. If, on first visiting the site or at any time during the course of the recording exercise, it appears in the archaeologist's professional judgement that:
then it is expected that the archaeologist will contact the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service as a matter of urgency. If contractors have not yet been appointed, any variations which the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service considers to be justifiable on archaeological grounds will be incorporated into a revised specification, which. will then be re-issued to the developer for redistribution to the tendering contractors. If an appointment has already been made and site work is ongoing, the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service will resolve the matter in liaison with the developer and the Local Planning Authority.
11.2 Unauthorised Alterations to Specification by Contractor
11.2.1 It is the archaeological contractor's responsibility to ensure that they have obtained the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service's consent in writing to any variation of the specification prior to the commencement of on-site work or (where applicable) prior to the finalisation of the tender. Unauthorised variations may result in the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service being unable to recommend determination of the planning application to the Local Planning Officer based on the archaeological information available and are therefore made solely at the risk of the contractor.
11.3 Technical Queries
11.3.1 Similarly, any technical queries arising from the specification detailed above, should be addressed to the West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service without delay.
11.4 Valid Period of Specification
11.4.1 This specification is valid for a period of one year from date of issue. After that time it may need to be revised to take into account new discoveries, changes in policy or the introduction of new working practices or techniques.
Andrea Burgess April 2006
West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service
County Sites and Monuments Record
West Yorkshire Archaeology Advisory Service
Registry of Deeds
Newstead Road
Wakefield WF1 2DE
Telephone: (01924) 305178
Fax: (01924) 306810
E-mail: aburgess@wyjs.org.uk
The archive should be stored in archive quality boxes (acid free cardboard 2mm thick, brass staples) in a range of box sizes suitable for Leeds Museum's storage system:
standard: 300 (w) X 380 (1) X 150 (d) mm
½ standard: 150 X 380 X 150 mm
deep standard: 300 X 380 X 300 mm
large standard: 450 X 380 X 150mm
double deep standard: 450 X 380 X 300
long shallow: 600 (w) X 380 X 150 mm
long deep: 600 X 380 X 300 mm
The archaeological contractor must advise separately on anything that does not readily fall into these categories.
Storage of sensitive metalwork such as iron and bronze preferably in snap seal plastic tubs, dimensions 300 X 300 X 150 mm, with silica gel and Humidity indicator strip. Silica gel should be the approved Health and Safety compatible kind.
Precious metal artefacts will need to kept in a safe or strong room.
The archive should be organised by material in the following order:
The site code, year and layer or site find number should be written on all finds and protected with varnish. Recommended varnish is Paraloid B72 dissolved in acetone. Coins should not be labelled in this way but all information marked legibly on associated packaging.
Coins and small finds will be stored as a discrete group within the collection.
Where there is a potential for display (e.g. complete or near complete pot) numbers may be marked on the underneath of the vessel.
Bulk materials (shell, tile, brick etc) should be last in the order of boxes. The archaeological contractor must advise about the find of bulk materials/items, sensitive organics, metalwork, etc as soon as possible in case there is a need for curatorial monitoring or conservation treatment.
Paper archive, photographs etc, should be stored in box sizes above.
The contents should be marked on the outside of each box using archive quality black ink (preferably biro). Allocation of materials to boxes should take account of the needs of lifting and handling legislation (i.e. boxes should not be filled so as to be difficult to lift safely). The stratification codes should be marked clearly and site find numbers if appropriate. Box numbers may be allocated from one up to infinity. The site code should be marked clearly on the outside of each box.
The archive should be ccompanied by a site file/ring binder with details of the finds archive and an index to speed up location of material.
Each box should have a contents list with legible name, date and signature of person compiling list. Note should be made of any materials extracted for specialist report or removed for conservation. Notes of all conservation treatment should be included in ring binder and suitable warning given if chemical treatment could be harmful to the recipient without them taking precautions (e.g. wear gloves if artefacts treated with benzotriodol).
N.B. Blue tac or another plasticene kike material should not be used during the drawing of finds.
Printed from http://www.archaeoscope.org/rep_06005_spec.php on 2026/06/09. Please view online for full details.
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