Site Event/Activity record ECH4009 - Acresfield School, Cheshire. Report on an Archaeological Watching Brief

The watching brief monitored excavations for foundations associated with a new classroom and library extension constructed on the southern side of the existing school building. A single archaeological feature was identified during the works, which has been interpreted as a small prehistoric pit of indeterminate use. A cut was defined against natural during the excavation of the new building foundations. This was cleaned by hand and sectioned, both widthways and longitudinally. The cut was sub-rectangular in shape, aligned northeast-southwest. It was 1.3 m long, 0.6 m wide and 0.27 m deep. The cut had steep irregular sides to a concave base. The shape of the cut did not readily identify its function. The fill of pit cut 101 was a dark-grey silty-clay , containing occasional (<10%) charcoal fragments and occasional small rounded pebbles (up to 30 mm maximum diameter). The fill also contained occasional flecks of burnt clay, which might have been fragments of degraded pottery. There were occasional patches of clean clay, which probably represented re-deposited natural within the fill. A single artefact was recovered from this deposit: a small rounded fragment of haematite. The fill was excavated by hand. There were no dateable artefacts from fill 100 ( of pit cut 101 ). The absence of any ceramics does not preclude further discussion of this anonymous feature: prehistoric cut features have recently been excavated at Southworth Hall Farm, Winwick, which are similar in nature. The presence of fragments of haematite in post-hole and pit fills were noted during work at Winwick, leading to discussion of the deposition of this material as a votive activity. The single archaeological feature cannot be fully comprehended in isolation, but does suggest wider activity in the area. The presence of a Roman site 150m to the east may indicate continuity of occupation from the prehistoric to the Roman period in the immediate vicinity: the site at Winwick has evidence for continuous activity from the Bronze into the Roman period.