Site Event/Activity record ECH5669 - An Archaeological Watching Brief for Land at Greenalls Complex, Warrington

A report on the results of a watching brief on groundworks at the Greenhall Complex, Warrington undertaken to record any archaeological features or deposits revealed by ground works on the site. Historic research shows that the site lies in the vicinity Middle Bronze Age Peat activity and Roman occupation. The watching brief along the south-western boundary of the development site encountered post-medieval activity of the 19th-20th centuries. The southernmost point of the site is recorded in the tithe map to have a small building on it with associated land plots. This evidence could be from an individual residence/smallholding. The excavation of peat deposists on the site revealed a sequence of sandy silt above a thick extensive peat deposit that sealed a sandy clay. It was this phase of works that identified evidence of Bronze Age activity and encountered Roman archaeological deposits above the peat: Within Trench 4 a Roman soil horizon c1.5m thick was encountered sealing the peat deposit. Trench 10 revealed a Roman pit with a high density of well-preserved Roman ceramic material dating from the early-mid 2nd century AD. Trench 11 revealed a buried organic layer with preserved grass sealing the peat deposit. Within the Trench 11 extension a Roman cobbled surface was discovered that contained evidence of Roman industrial activity, including bog iron.