EDO5924 - Roeshot Hill, Christchurch; evaluation 2015

The evaluation comprised the excavation of 76 trenches each measuring approximately 50m x 1.8m, across five fields referred to as A1 to A5, and representing an approximate 2% sample of the site. Note, 83 trenches were planned but seven were not excavated due to restrictions and access issues. The trial trenches were excavated using a tracked excavator equipped with a toothless grading bucket. Archaeological features were discovered in Fields A2 and A5 but the evaluation discovered no concentrated areas of activity. Most features were probable field boundaries, the majority of which were undated, and reflect the field systems indicated on the 19th century maps. These maps show a field system on a roughly north-west – south-east alignment and some of the archaeological features may date to the post-medieval period and 19th century. Worked flint recovered from some contexts may suggest a later prehistoric date for some of the gullies and linear features. Six sherds of medieval pottery (11th – 14th century) were recovered from gully terminus [3604]. A small assemblage of finds was recovered consisting largely of pieces of worked and burnt, unworked flint. Other finds are very sparsely represented and range in date from prehistoric to post medieval. The majority of finds were unstratified, with a few from stratified feature fills. One piece of pottery of probable Late Bronze Age date was found. 32 pieces of struck flint were recovered, most (21) were flakes or flake fragments; there were seven flake cores and four retouched tools (scrapers, a retouched flake and a tool with a scraper on the distal end, a notch on the left margin and retouch on both margins).