Site Event/Activity record ECH5740 - Evaluation Trenching at Beeston Castle, 2007

A programme of trenching at Beeston Castle and Hillfort was undertaken by M Fletcher of Matrix Archaeology, completed in October 2007 (1). The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the impact of bracken root action on deposits of archaeological interest at the site. One trench was situated on the lower green, to the south-west of the nineteenth century gatehouse, and four more trenches were excavated in the outer ward, close to the areas excavated in the 1980s. The trenches were dug by hand and the remit of the evaluation condoned the depth of excavation tot eh surface of the uppermost archaeological horizon. Mixed accumulations of pottery, including sherds of prehistoric origin, were encountered in the outer ward evaluations, and postholes were also evident. The specifications of the evaluation precluded the excavations of these features, however, and they were preserved in situ. Although the results of this work have not been published (they are discussed as personal communications to the authors of a desk-based assessment, 1), it was also stated that a watching brief was scheduled to occur in 2007 in association with the installation of a french drain to the southwest of the lower gatehouse (1).