Site Event/Activity record ECH7176 - Land south of Radway Green Business Park, Crewe, Cheshire: Archaeological Evaluation

A programme of archaeological trial trenching was undertaken in November 2022 on a 25-hectare parcel of land to the south of Radway Green Business Park, Crewe, Cheshire (centred NGR 377645 353855), prior to development. The evaluation comprised the excavation of 13 trial trenches measuring 30 m x 1.8 m. Archaeological features or deposits were exposed in all 13 trenches. Evidence for Romano-British activity was found in trenches 1 and 2, in the north of the development area. A small assemblage of pottery dating to the 2nd century, including a piece of samian ware with a maker’s mark, was recovered from the ditch fills. The ditches may represent two sides of an enclosure. A pit in trench 2 contained a large fragment of quernstone, also of Romano-British date, suggesting crop processing took place in the area. Remaining features comprised post-medieval and undated ditches and pits. A series of ditches in trench 10 correlate with a path or hollow-way depicted on the 19th-century mapping. A layer of peat was exposed in trenches 4, 5 and 6. No artefactual evidence was found within the deposit, but it is thought to be of possible ancient origin. Pits in trenches 3 and 5 contained a similar peat deposit. Environmental evidence represents plant species native to Britain since the start of the Holocene and therefore does not provide evidence for site chronology, however, the samples do indicate potential in the area for further investigation and targeted sampling for detailed environmental reconstruction. (1)