EXCAVATION AND FIELDWORK IN WILTSHIRE 2000 



285 



truncated bedrock. No archaeological features or 

 pre-modern finds were present. 



Latton 



Eysey (SU 111 941); Medieval and Post Medieval 

 Between July and August 2000 CAT carried out a 

 watching brief in advance of the cutting of a gas 

 pipeline from Duke's Brake to Cricklade. In one 

 area, near Eysey Manor Farm, the pipeline was 

 planned to run through an area of earthworks 

 thought to belong to a medieval/post-medieval 

 water management system on the outskirts of the 

 deserted medieval village of Eysey. As a result, the 

 trench wayleave was restricted to a width of 2m 

 and was excavated prior to the pipe trench being 

 cut. 



Several medieval pits and a hearth were 

 identified along with several linear features, 

 probably drainage ditches, of medieval and post- 

 medieval date. A post-medieval building was also 

 identified. Work on the pipeline is due to be 

 completed early in 200 1 , and will be followed by a 

 fuller report on the results. 



Latton Lands (SU 760 680); Bronze Age 

 Gravel extraction by Cotswold Aggregates on both 

 sides of the new A4 1 9 continued to be monitored 

 by the OAU. Part of a ring ditch was located 

 adjacent to the road on the western side (PRN 625). 

 This had been evaluated by CAT in 1995. The 

 exposed area was planned and it was covered and 

 fenced off for in situ preservation. Two pits 

 containing burnt stone and charcoal and medieval 

 plough furrows were the only other archaeological 

 features found in this area. 



In 2000 stripping began on the east side of the 

 road. Archaeological work focused on a feature 

 believed to be a rectangular enclosure, visible from 

 the air (PRN 626). An L-shaped ditch was exposed 

 with a gap in its north-east corner. A substantial 

 assemblage of middle Bronze Age pottery was 

 recovered from the ditch, especially at the 'entrance' 

 terminals. A waterhole and several pits were located 

 in the 'entrance' area, and a circular posthole 

 building, 6m in diameter, lay further west near the 

 north ditch. Initial interpretation that this was an 

 enclosure at the edge of woodland, using forest 

 cover to form the west and south sides, is belied by 

 the preliminary results of pollen analysis from the 

 waterhole, which suggest the area was open, grazed 

 grassland at the time. 



One other small circular building and several 

 widely scattered pits have been found in the 

 surrounding area during a subsequent watching 

 brief. 



Liddington 



Liddington Castle (SU 209 797); Iron Age 

 Analytical earthwork survey of this hillfort was 

 undertaken by English Heritage, as part of the 

 Countryside Agency's Ridgeway Heritage Project, 

 in advance of repair works to erosion scars on the 

 ramparts. In addition to this ground survey, two 

 aerial photographic sorties were flown and aerial 

 photographic transcription of the area around the 

 fort was undertaken. Features of note include two 

 slight linear hollows, which appear to be overlain 

 by the counterscarp of the hillfort and might be 

 the remains of linear ditches. A more substantial 

 linear, on the western slope of the hill, can be seen 

 on aerial photographs to extend for a considerable 

 distance to the west. The fort has an eastern 

 entrance, and survey supports the idea that there 

 was also a western entrance, blocked in antiquity. 

 The ramparts have been badly damaged by 

 quarrying on the south-western side but are 

 otherwise generally well preserved. The interior has 

 been much disturbed by quarrying and other recent 

 activities. Though one or two possible hut circles 

 are visible there is little evidence of intensive 

 occupation. There is also little sign of subsequent 

 use of the site, with the exception of a possible pillow 

 mound on the south side, the quarries, and some 

 remnants of military activity in the early and mid 

 20th century. Further details are available from 

 the National Monuments Record Centre, Report 

 no. AI/4/2000. 



Liddington Castle (SU 209 797); Iron Age 

 At Liddington Castle hillfort near Swindon, 

 weathering and the actions of grazing livestock had 

 caused the formation of numerous erosion scars 

 on the monument. Prior to their consolidation by 

 a specialist conservation firm, these erosion scars 

 were subject to archaeological recording by Wessex 

 Archaeology. This work provided tentative evidence 

 that the final phase of rampart construction 

 included a timber palisade, and that the preceding 

 phase may have contained some internal timbering. 

 Two sherds of prehistoric pottery were recovered 

 from one of the scars. 



