Site Event/Activity record ECH6156 - Lea Manor Farm, Aldford: Report on Archaeological Investigation associated with Phase-3 Redevelopment of Lea Manor Farm (2015)

Phase 3 of the archaeological investigations at Lea Manor Farm centred specifically on the construction of a large cow building on the west side of the complex, plus excavation of a new pond to the north which, together, significantly expand the built up area of the farm onto fields west of the historic farm footprint. Aerial photographs dating to the 1940s clearly illustrate the farm to be surrounded on all sides by ridge and furrow cultivation, however extensive modern ploughing has largely destroyed this. Work occurred across the footprint of the new cow house over three days (17th-20th November 2015). An area of topsoil measuring 153.3m by 36.6m was stripped mechanically. Every effort was made to remove the soil in layers but the conditions made this difficult. The field lay under a mix of rye grass and clover vegetation and whilst the roots were shallow, the clayey soil meant that at times the entire profile came away from the subsoil. The sub-soil was uniformerly of clay, with the soil also very clayey and with a depth of 12cm to 40cm. Very little pottery was discovered, though did include occasional Roman sherds (three sherds) dating from the late first to the mid fourth century. Only one feature was identified this being a continuation of a ditch first discovered in 2013. The profile of the ditch was severly truncated with a depth of no more than 5cm; no pottery was recovered, although the section excavated in 2013 contained exclusively 18th century sherds. In the area of the new pond the plough soil was stripped on the afternoon of 20th November. Some post medieval pottery was retrieved. The only features identified were 19th century field drains comprising clay pipes running south-west/north-east across the field. The limited amounts of medieval pottery (13th-15th centuries) recovered indicates limited manuring activity of agricultural fields. As for the Roman pottery, it is unclear how this made its way into the soil matrix but could indicate a nearby settlement. (1)