Monument record 15201 - Excavated Ditch, Tarporley Road, Tarvin

<1> Wardell Armstrong Archaeology, 2013, Saxon Heath, Tarporley Road, Tarvin, Cheshire: Archaeological Evaluation Report, R4463 (Client Report). SCH8927.

A programme of trial trench archaeological evaluation was undertaken in 2013 in advance of a proposed new residential development along Tarporley Road to the southwest of Tarvin, Cheshire. This work followed on from a desk-based assessment (ECH5210) which revealed possible evidence for fortifications or features relating to the 17th century occupation of Tarvin during the English Civil War. A follow up programme of geophysical survey (ECH5623) most notably revealed a wide linear feature crossing the north side of the survey area which was interpreted as a back-filled ditch. Additionally, an associated metal-detector survey identified a concentration of artefacts on the south side of the survey area, including musket balls and buttons of probable 17th century date. A partial cannon ball was also recovered.

Ten trial trenches were then excavated, each measuring 30m by 1.8m, focussing on areas of archaeological potential as identified in the previous phases of work at the site. Trenches 7 and 8 targetted the linear feature identified through the geophysical survey and evidence of a substantial ditch was recorded in both. The ditch is orientated roughly east-west and corresponds to the line of a field boundary depicted on the 1838 Tithe Map for Tarvin. Despite no direct dating for the construction of these ditches, the extensive historic documentation on civil war era in Tarvin, also the nature and date of the associated finds from the metal-detecting survey, mean that a 17th century construction and use is possible.