Site Event/Activity record ECH5648 - Shurlach Lane, Crematorium, Davenham, Cheshire: Archaeological Metal Detector Survey

Archaeologically supervised metal detector survey carried out as a condition of planing permission for the construction of a new crematorium on land to the south of Northwich, overlooking the River Dane. The survey recovered a large number of .303 bullets as well as earlier .577, .450 bullets and musket/pistol balls. These can be attributed to a historic target range located in the field to the immediate southwest. Once the large number of bullets is discounted then the overall quantity of artefacts was relatively low, with the majority dating to the post-medieval and modern periods. However, a small number of medieval artefacts were found including part of a beehive thimble, lead weights, lead spindle whorls, and a degraded piece of medieval ceramic. The low quantity and portability of these artefacts suggests that they were lost or broken by casual agricultural labourers seasonally working the fields, and there is no evidence that the site was ever occupied in history. Several coins dating from the Victorian, George V, and George VI periods were located as well as several copper alloy buttons, a copper alloy rosary crucifix, iron O rings, horse brass fragments, and lead bag seals. These are indicative of the post-medieval and modern agricultural industry prior to the influx of agricultural mechanisation post World War 2. The quantity and form of the artefacts recovered is what would be expected from agricultural land in proximity to a firing range, and there is no evidence from the material archive that the site was ever inhabited.