Site Event/Activity record ECH3655 - M62 new Junction 8 and Junctions 8-9 widening, Cheshire: Archaeological Monitoring of Geotechnical Trial Pits

Archaeological monitoring of geotechnical trial pits along the M62 motorway between the proposed location for a new Junction 8 and the existing Junction 9. In addition to the addition of the new junction, the carriageway was widened from dual three to dual four lanes between Junctions 8 and 9. The inspection of the trial pits revealed that the western end of the study area, particularly within the Burtonwood Airfield, had been considerably affected by modern disturbance, whether through the construction of the airfield itself, or by the constrction of the M62. The land surrounding the Burtonwood Service Area and that in the Gemini Retail Park has also been affected by later development. The arable land in the east of the study area displayed evidence of undisturbed ground and it was in two trial pits in this area that deposits of peat were revealed, probably of Mesolithic origin. These occurred in the basin of the Sankey Brook on alluvial sand deposits. The proximity of the peat deposits to the possible site of Dallam Poss may indicated a more northerly location for the areaof wetland than previously thought. Two trial pits were excavated along the projected line of the Sankey Brook Navigation, where a hard surface was revealed at an approximate depth of 2.2m. Few artefacts were recovered despite the metal detecting and sieving of undisturbed topsoil; this may indicate that the area was poorly settled and that settlement concentrated on the high groune to the north-west. Three palaeoenvironmental samples were taken, all of peat, which underwent spot pollen analysis. An early mesolithic date was derived for the genesis of the peat deposit. (1)