Source/Archive record SCH8241 - Black Firs Lane, Somerford, Cheshire: Archaeological Shovel Pitting Report

A programme of archaeological shovel pitting was undertaken in May 2017 in six fields located on the east side of Black Firs Lane, Congleton. The works included the excavation and topsoil sieving of shovel test pits at 50m gridded intervals across the proposed development area to check for survival of Prehistoric sub-surface artefact scatters. Of the 49 proposed shovel pits, three were not excavated due to very wet ground conditions. A small assemblage of 33 fragments of artefacts and ecofacts was recovered from nine of the shovel pits. Most of the items were of mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth century date. The test pitting did not identify any artefact scatters and the finds recovered are representative of general background finds common in agricultural areas.