Monument record 7764 - Medieval water management feature at Yarwood Heath

<1> Wessex Archaeology, 2015, A556 Knutsford to Bowdon Improvement, Cheshire: Archaeological Evaluation Trenching and Watching Brief (Client Report). SCH7976.

In 2010 geophysical survey was undertaken as part of a programme of work associated with improvements to the A556 Knutsford to Bowdon road. A rectangular anomaly was detected in a low lying area to the north of Yarwood Heath Farm. The feature was subsequently investigated by a series of excavation trenches in 2014/15. Trench 8 was located across the southern side of the enclosure and found it to be 6.5m wide by 0.65m deep. Two fills were recorded - a 0.5m thick basal deposit of peaty black sandy silt loam which was overlain by a 0.15m thick deposit of mid-brown sandy silt loam. No artefacts were recovered but soil samples collected from the base of the features contained relatively large quantities of wood, charcoal and seeds. Radiocarbon dating of Rubus seeds from the basal fill returned a date of cal. AD 1280-1400.

Due to the position of the feature close to the River Bollin, together with the wet underlying ground conditions of the area and also the broad and shallow form of its ditches, it is thought likely to serve a water management/drainage function.