Site Event/Activity record ECH6479 - The Sandstone Ridge Trust. Interim Report: Urchins Kitchen

In March 2016, an archaeological trial excavation was carried out to identify the archaeological potential of a site at Urchins Kitchen, Delamere Forest, as part of the second stage of the HLF-funded 'Ridge, Rocks and Springs Project'. The site is located in managed woodland within Delamere Forest. The Mid Cheshire Ridge acted as a barrier to the passage of Irish Sea ice during the last ice age and its hills are etched with numerous glacial melt water channels, visible as natural rock exposures, many of which formed sub glacially. The erosion would be exaggerated along existing geological faults leading to the formation of 'nooks'. Particularly spectacular examples are those at Urchin's Kitchen in Primrose hill Woods. The area had been recorded as part of the Stage 1 field work by a group of volunteers who visited the area as part of a graffiti survey, they identified a panel of graffiti for detailed scale recording. Desk based assessment compared maps of the local geology with the location of the sites and their relationship to known fault lines. The second stage work consisted of trial excavation trenches to investigate the extent of the rock shelters and geology. An examination was also undertaken of a suspected 'Celtic head' within the rock face, along with detailed planning and recording of the previously identified graffiti panel. The work was restricted to a target area and what was considered achievable for volunteers within the 2 day time frame. Further work may produce more evidence of activity in the area and there is a possibility of more material being recovered from excavation on the site. However it is a large area, some 30% of the original feature has previously been buried and a complete assessment is outside the current resources of the project. It is recommended that the landscape feature itself is protected from any future change of use (or back filling) and highlights the rapid loss of such landscape features if not managed by the landowners. (1)