30 Rythergate • Cawood • York • YO8 3TP 01757 268871

Little Westfield Farm, Cottam: Site Report

Guy Hopkinson

1.0 Summary

This document provides details of the background to and results of an archaeological investigation carried out at Little Westfield Farm, Cottam, East Yorkshire.

Following a planning application to construct an egg-laying unit on the site, the project was instigated in order to assess the nature, quality and date of any archaeological remains that might be present on the site. To this end a two stage approach was adopted starting with archaeological monitoring of the topsoil strip followed by targeted excavation of features that could not be preserved in situ.

The topsoil strip revealed eighteen isolated anomalies which all proved to be of natural origin, along with six linear archaeological features. The latter consisted of a large north-south aligned ditch, a curvilinear ditch on an east-west alignment, and four closely associated features on a west northwest-east southeast alignment. These were interpreted as a trackway with flanking ditches on either side and a possible hedge line following the trackway.

Artefacts recovered comprised poorly preserved animal bone, lithics of Neolithic/Bronze Age date, pottery dating to the Iron Age, Roman and early Medieval periods and an early Medieval sharpening stone (hone stone). These artefacts were found in deposits relating to the disuse of features rather than their construction or early use, and no confident date can be assigned to any of the linear features running across the site. It is thought, however, that the north-south ditch may be prehistoric, and the trackway and associated flanking ditches may have originated in the late prehistoric or Roman periods. The presence of unabraded Anglo-Scandinavian pottery (Torksey ware) and the Anglo-Scandinavian hone stone is thought to indicate occupation activity in the immediate vicinity during the early Medieval period.

2.0 Site Location, Topography & Land Use

The application area (NGR 500685 464710) is situated 1.2 kilometres to the east of the deserted Medieval village (DMV) at Cottam, approximately two kilometres south of Langtoft (see Figure 1 and Figure 2 (Fig 2 replaced by Google Map in web version)), and lies at the western side of a field currently under arable cultivation. This field is bounded on its western side by the farm buildings associated with Little Westfield Farm, and on the east by the B1249. Agricultural land borders the site to the north and south.

The site lies at approximately 125 metres above sea level on a gentle southeast facing slope.

scale roads villages cottam dmv ap data: cottam ap data: humber smr/stoertz parish site location topography

3.0 Archaeological Background

The site of the proposed development lies within a major prehistoric and Romano-British landscape, a landscape which has been intensively occupied and exploited since the Mesolithic period.

The closest known features to Little Westfield Farm are evident as cropmarks on aerial photographs of the area, which show what has been interpreted as a ditched trackway passing through the northern half of the application area. This cropmark is also visible on the ground, as are various other possible features immediately to the east of the application area which have resulted in patches of higher crop growth. Two large isolated cropmarks were visible from the ground approximately 100 metres to the east of the site located on either side of the ditched trackway alignment.

Aerial photographs have also revealed a multitude of cropmarks in the broader area around the site indicative of other trackways as well as enclosures and settlements pre-dating the 18th and 19th century field patterns of the area. Ladder settlements are visible immediately to the east, southeast and south of the site which usually date to the Iron Age or Romano-British periods.

Funerary monuments are represented by Bronze Age barrows, the closest being approximately one kilometre to the south of the application area, and by an extensive square barrow cemetery to the south east (Danes Graves) dating to the Iron Age. This was partially investigated in the 19th century and contained at least one chariot burial.

Just over three kilometres to the northwest of the application site lies the Anglian site of Burrow House Farm, from which a rich collection of predominantly Middle Saxon metalwork has been recovered.

4.0 Aims & Objectives

The aims of project were initially to gather sufficient information to establish the presence/absence, nature, date, depth, quality of survival and importance of any archaeological deposits encountered in order to enable an assessment of the potential and significance of the archaeology, and the impact which the proposed development would have on any such features. Following the assessment of the archaeology on the site the investigation aims were to preserve by record any features that would be impacted upon by the development, and could not be preserved in situ

5.0 Methodology

5.1 Fieldwork

Once the site limits had been set out by the developer, topsoil and modern overburden were removed using a 360° excavator fitted with a toothless bucket working under the continuous supervision of an experienced archaeologist. As the overburden was removed all potential features were mapped using a total station theodolite (TST) to create a comprehensive pre-excavation plan of the site.

Following the removal of overburden all visible anomalies of archaeological potential were cleaned by hand, photographed, and then sample excavated according to the specification provided by Humber Archaeology Partnership (see Appendix 9).

Context recording was undertaken using a database on hand held computers, and in accordance with the standards and guidance of the Archaeological Field Manual (Museum of London Archaeology Service 3rd edition 1994). A full drawn record of features was maintained, cut features being planned at a scale of 1:20 and sections at a scale of 1:10. The drawings were related to Ordnance Survey Datum and a register of drawings maintained in a database on hand held computers.

A full black and white and colour photographic record was also maintained, supplemented by digital photographs. This aimed to illustrate the principal features both in detail and in a general context. Photographs of features were taken before and after excavation, using appropriate scales. The photographic record also includes working shots to represent more generally the nature of the work. A register of all photographs was kept in a database on hand held computers.

A survey of local field boundaries was made in order to locate the site in relation to the Ordnance Survey grid, and a reference measurement was taken on a spot height on the B1249 (value 119mOD) immediately to the east of the application area. All height measurements given in this report and the site archive are in relation to this spot height.

5.2 Environmental Sampling

Samples for environmental analysis were retained from all archaeological features, predominantly from their primary fills. During fieldwork, however, the impression of the excavators was that these deposits held little environmental potential, and on occasions samples from later in the sequence of fills within a feature were also retained where the potential of these deposits was thought to be higher than the primary fills. Sections excavated through features towards the west of the site, where root disturbance appeared to be fairly severe, were not sampled providing samples could be taken from less disturbed areas.

The samples were subsequently sent for assessment by Palaeoecology Research Services, the results of which are given in Appendix 8.

5.3 Finds

All identified finds of pre-modern date were collected and retained for study; these being three dimensionally recorded using a TST. Modern objects were not retained, but their presence noted in the relevant context record. Finds were placed in bags labelled with the project code, context and find number.

Following fieldwork the finds were washed, marked and assessed by relevant specialists. The assessment reports are provided as appendices to this document.

6.0 Results

6.1 Introduction

A total of six archaeological features were evident within the site area, all of which were linear and extended in at least one direction beyond the excavation limits. Because of the lack of stratigraphic relationships between these features, relative dating of the cuts is not possible. At the southern end of the site a large ditch was excavated, running on a north-south alignment. At the northern end of the site a narrow curvilinear ditch was excavated, running roughly east-west. Between these two ditches was a group of four northwest-southeast aligned linear cuts, which are presumed to be associated with each other and probably represent a trackway and its outlying drainage ditches.

6.2 Natural & natural features

The natural comprised chalk bedrock, which over the majority of the site was quite soft and marly near the surface but more solid lower down. The surface of the natural over the western half of the site exhibited a fairly high degree of root disturbance.

Eighteen anomalies were visible in the natural which on investigation proved to be of natural origin, the majority of these being tree throws or root disturbance. These anomalies were mapped using a total station theodolite and a small selection were photographed after excavation. No further recording of these anomalies was carried out.

6.3 Undated

6.3.1 arc08021019 / 1033 (ditch)

Two sections were excavated through this east-west aligned curvilinear feature, which survives to a maximum depth of 0.44 metres and is approximately 1.20 metres in width. The feature extends beyond both the western and eastern edges of the site, 32.00 metres of its length being visible within the excavation area.

The western section (arc08021019) was found to contain two fills, arc08021018 and arc08021017. The eastern section (arc08021033) also contained two fills, arc08021035 and arc08021034. Neither of these fills produced any dating evidence and the function of the feature remains unclear.

6.4 ?Prehistoric

6.4.1 arc08021020 (ditch)

A single section, 1.5 metres in length, was excavated across the width of north-south aligned ditch arc08021020. This feature was visible for a length of approximately 26 metres in the southwest corner of the site, extending beyond the excavation area in both directions. The feature measured 5.60 metres in width and survives to a depth of 1.95 metres, cutting into the chalk natural.

The feature seems to have silted up fairly gradually, with nine distinct fills being recorded within the feature. Most fills contained a high proportion of small chalk fragments, possibly washed in from bank material, but two fills (arc08021023 and arc08021026) were almost devoid of such material. These thin deposits may represent turf lines which formed within the ditch during periods of little inwash.

Finds from the fills of this feature comprise an Anglo-Scandinavian hone stone, two fragments of worked flint and 14 fragments of animal bone. Apart from the bone fragments, all the finds were retrieved from fills fairly late in the sequence and cannot therefore be used to assign a date to the construction or initial use of the feature.

Context	Artefact	Material	Description	ID	Date	Count
arc08021022	arc08020010	stone	blue phyllite	hone stone	anglo-scandinavian	1
arc08021022	arc08020013	flint	till	waste flake	prehistoric	1
arc08021025	arc08020012	flint	wolds	waste flake	prehistoric	1
arc08021026	arc08020015	bone	animal			2
arc08021027	arc08020014	bone	anima			12

6.5 ?Prehistoric/?Roman

Four linear features, thought to comprise a trackway and its flanking ditches have been grouped together on the basis of their spatial association and similar alignment, all running west northwest-east southeast. The trackway, arc08021015 / 1038, was flanked by ditch arc08021005 / 1030 to the south and ditch arc08021009 / 1036 to the north. Between the trackway and its northern ditch, though not extending the full width of the site area, was feature arc08021007 which could be a vestigial ditch but given its irregular shape could also be the result of root disturbance from a hedge. The northern ditch, however, appears to respect the position of this feature.

6.5.1 arc08021015 / 1038 (trackway)

Two sections were excavated through this trackway, arc08021015 at the west and arc08021038 at the east. The feature survives to a maximum depth of 1.00 metres and is approximately 5.75 metres in width. The visible length of this feature was 31.50 metres, and it extended beyond the excavation limits to the west and east. It was aligned west northwest-east southeast and flanked to the north by ditch arc08021009 / 1036 and to the south by ditch arc08021005 / 1030, both of which ran on the same alignment. The edges of the trackway were indistinct at the western end, being masked by an area of colluvium filling a slight depression in the natural and by root disturbance. In both sections the cut (more properly an interface) had a fairly gentle break of slope with moderate sides breaking to a fairly flat base. The base of the feature had two narrow grooves running along its length with a raised area between. These grooves might represent re-cuts, but the overlying fills gave no indication that this was the case, most extending the full width of the cut.

Four fills were evident in section arc08021015 and seven in section arc08021038. Apart from fill arc08021043 which was quite low down in the sequence of fills in section arc08021038 and produced calcite tempered Roman pottery, all finds were retrieved from the final fills of both sections. Artefacts included Anglo-Scandinavian, Roman and Iron Age pottery, two fragments of worked flint and one fragment of animal bone.

Context	Artefact	Material	Description	ID	Date	Count
arc08021011	arc08020007	ceramic	vessel	torksey	anglo-scandinavian	2
arc08021012	arc08020008	ceramic	vessel	torksey	anglo-scandinavian	1
arc08021039	arc08020016	ceramic	vessel	grey ware	roman	4
arc08021039	arc08020017	ceramic	vessel	torksey	anglo-scandinavian	2
arc08021039	arc08020018	flint	till	serrated flake	prehistoric	1
arc08021039	arc08020019	ceramic	vessel	torksey	anglo-scandinavian	1
arc08021039	arc08020020	bone	animal			1
arc08021039	arc08020021	ceramic	vessel	torksey	anglo-scandinavian	1
arc08021039	arc08020022	ceramic	vessel	erratic tempered	iron age?	1
arc08021039	arc08020023	flint	wolds	waste flake	prehistoric	1
arc08021039	arc08020024	ceramic	vessel	torksey	anglo-scandinavian	2
arc08021039	arc08020026	ceramic	vessel	torksey	anglo-scandinavian	1
arc08021043	arc08020025	ceramic	vessel	calcite tempered	roman	2

6.5.2 arc08021005 / 1030 (southern flanking ditch)

Two sections were excavated through this ditch, arc08021005 at the west and arc08021030 at the east. The feature survives to a maximum depth of 0.45 metres and has an approximate width of 1.00 metres. It extended beyond the excavation limits to both east and west, 30.40 metres of its length being visible within the excavation area. The cut edges at the western side of the site were very indistinct, again being masked by colluvium identical to the upper fill of the feature. The cut (where visible) broke sharply to slightly irregular sides and had a very flat base.

Section arc08021005 contained two or three fills, arc08021002, 1003 and 1004, though it was unclear during excavation whether arc08021002 was actually a fill of the cut or simply colluvium in a slight depression. Section arc08021030 contained two fills, arc08021031 and 1032. No finds were recovered from section arc08021030, while a single sherd of Roman amphora was retrieved from fill arc08021004 of arc08021005. Possible fill arc08021002 contained a further sherd of Roman pottery and a waste flint chunk.

Context	Artefact	Material	Description	ID	Date	Count
arc08021002	arc08020005	ceramic	vessel	eboracum	roman	1
arc08021002	arc08020006	flint	till	waste chunk	prehistoric	1
arc08021004	arc08020004	ceramic	vessel	amphora	roman	1

6.5.3 arc08021009 / 1036 (northern flanking ditch)

Two sections were excavated through this ditch, arc08021009 at the west and arc08021036 at the east. The feature survives to a maximum depth of 0.60 metres and has a width of approximately 1.20 metres. It was visible for a length of 32.10 metres, extending beyond the excavation limits to both east and west. The edges of the cut broke sharply to moderate sides and a flat base.

Section arc08021009 contained two fills, arc08021010 and 1016, while section arc08021036 contained a single fill, arc08021037. No finds were recovered from fill arc08021037 but the upper fill of arc08021009 contained two sherds of Roman calcite tempered pottery.

Context	Artefact	Material	Description	ID	Date	Count
arc08021010	arc08020002	ceramic	vessel	calcite tempered	roman	1
arc08021010	arc08020003	ceramic	vessel	calcite tempered	roman	1

6.5.4 arc08021007 (hedge line/ditch)

Feature arc08021007 is thought to represent a hedge line, being very shallow and irregular in form, and extended for 20.00 metres on a west northwest-east southeast alignment. It continued beyond the western excavation limit but terminated at the east within the site area. Two sections were excavated across the feature, which survives to a maximum depth of 0.12 metres and measures approximately 0.70 metres in width. It contained a single fill, arc08021008, from which no finds were retrieved.

7.0 Discussion & Conclusions

It is likely that the earliest feature is the north-south aligned ditch, arc08021020, which is probably of prehistoric origin. The nature of the fills within this ditch suggest a very prolonged period of silting, possibly with time on at least two occasions for turf lines to form within the feature suggesting periods during which no infilling occurred. Any artefacts from within the fills cannot therefore be used to date the feature itself but are simply indicative of when it was no longer in use. Given the presence of an Anglo-Scandinavian hone stone in fill arc08021022 the ditch was clearly still a visible landscape feature during the early Medieval period. This fill, however, is more than a metre above the cut base and represents an episode fairly late in the disuse of the ditch.

Apart from the curvilinear ditch, arc08021019 / 1033 (which is undated), the remaining features appear to be spatially associated with each other and are thought to represent a trackway and its outlying ditches. This feature was previously known through cropmark evidence, and extends some distance to both the west and east of the application area (see Figure 1). This could well date from the later prehistoric period, but material found within the fills of the features is of ?Iron Age, Roman and Anglo-Scandinavian date. Within the trackway itself a sherd of unabraded Roman calcite tempered pottery was recovered from fill arc08021043, fairly near the base of the cut. This might indicate an Iron Age or Roman date to the initial use of the trackway, but again it is likely that the feature witnessed a fairly long period of use and that infilling following its abandonment occurred over a prolonged period. In the last stage of its infilling, represented by fill arc08021039, the pottery includes a single sherd of possible Iron Age material and the base of a Roman grey ware jar, but the bulk of the material is Anglo-Scandinavian Torksey ware. The earlier material is generally quite abraded implying that it had been kicking around for some time, probably being moved about within a ploughsoil, before finally coming to rest in the trackway fill. The Anglo-Scandinavian pottery on the other hand is in fairly good condition and has presumably not travelled far, or for long, before arriving in the trackway. This final fill can therefore be dated quite securely to the early Medieval period, and suggests Anglo-Scandinavian occupation activity in the immediate vicinity.

The ditches flanking the trackway produced only abraded Roman pottery sherds but being shallower and therefore presumably silting up quicker than the trackway it is not surprising that later material was not incorporated in their fills. Assuming that these are contemporary flanking ditches rather than part of an earlier phase of activity, the lack of later finds would support the suggestion that the trackway dates to the Iron Age or Roman periods.

The artefactual evidence is of little help in dating the features from which the material was recovered, and with little stratigraphic evidence to rely on dating the features remains problematic. Because of this it is difficult to draw any concrete conclusions regarding the archaeology encountered or to place the results in a wider landscape context. Although no Anglo-Scandinavian features were encountered the presence of unabraded pottery from this period, and the implications that holds, is probably the most significant finding. As is so often the case with rescue archaeology the results have provided a glimpse of a potentially very interesting and regionally important site which, without further fieldwork and research, remains somewhat enigmatic.

8.0 Bibliography

• Richards, J.D. 1999. Cottam: An Anglian and Anglo-Scandinavian settlement on the Yorkshire Wolds, Archaeological Journal, 156, 1-110
• Richards, J.D. 2001. Burrow House Farm, Cottam: an Anglian and Anglo-Scandinavian Settlement in East Yorkshire. http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/resources.html?cottam
• Stoertz, C. 1997. Ancient Landscapes of the Yorkshire Wolds. RCHME.

9.0 Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Dave Evans and Ruth Atkinson of the Humber Archaeology Partnership for their assistance during the project. Thanks also go to Chris Burton, the landowner, Ian Pick, agricultural consultant for the project, and John Houston for his patience and flexibility during site works. Finally, thanks to Julian Richards for allowing the use of the digital archive associated with the York University excavations at Cottam B, and Antony Dickson for his help in the field.

10.0 Stratigraphic Matrix (unphased)

		above/below
		cut feature
		same as
		contained artefacts
arc0802xxxx		context number
arc0802xxxx		context sampled

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