Source/Archive record SCH9479 - A536 Congleton Link Road: Archaeological Report

A programme of investigative archaeological works was undertaken between 2019-2021 in association with the construction of a new link road (A536) around Congleton, Cheshire. Work included the excavation of several targeted trenches, areas of strip, map, and record, targeted watching brief, photographic survey of historical buildings, monitoring of the relocation of a historical milestone, and limited geoarchaeological fieldwork and subsequent assessment. The earliest remains were identified by the assessment of borehole samples taken from peat deposits at Asset 136 (CHER 15905), close to the Manchester Road at the eastern end of the scheme. The boreholes through the peat produced good pollen sequences and other material, which hold further potential for detailed analysis. Initial AMS dating of these deposits was able to establish the inception of the peat formation to the early Mesolithic period, with the uppermost surviving strata dated to the early Neolithic period. This evidence augments the results of other work undertaken in the wider area to characterize and date further peat formations and will ultimately contribute to a greater understanding of processes of landscape development and use during these less well-known periods of human activity. Extensive areas of strip, map and record investigation of crop marks at three locations revealed several features of significance. These included a limited number of discrete pit or posthole features at Asset 1 , where one pit (CHER 15904) was found to contain a deposit of charred hazelnut shell which produced a radiocarbon date of the early Neolithic period. Several other discrete features in this area, while lacking material finds, and showing no clear physical relationship to the dated pit, also have the potential to be early prehistoric in origin. Multiple ditches of a field and enclosure sytem (CHER 7299/1) were also invesitigated at Asset 1, where it is likely that the vestiges of several superimposed field systems, including a trackway, are represented. Datable artefacts were sparse, but the latest components of the system appear to be of post-medieval date. Several features contained organic material that may be suitable for scientific dating. Traces of undated field systems were also identified at Asset 115, at the south-western end of the scheme (CHER 15903), where a pond produced a significant medieval pollen sequence, and at Asset 131 at the eastern end of the scheme (CHER 15902). There were also two undated ponds at the latter site, and these again produced well-preserved palaeoenvironmental remains. The targeted excavation works investigated and recorded various township boundaries (CHER 15898, 15899, 15900, 15901). Some followed natural drainage features, whilst most that were of manmade origin lacked datable artefacts that would verify their origins as elements of the medieval or earlier post-medieval enclosure system.