SDO12523 - Proposed Dairy Complex, Bayard Dairy, Gouds Hill, Upwey, Dorset. Archaeological Evaluation

'In June 2010, Terrain Archaeology carried out an archaeological evaluation of about two hectares of agricultural land immediately east of Bayard Dairy, Upwey, Dorset. The site (centred on NGR SY 666853) lies on the southern flank of the South Dorset Ridgeway, above the villages of Elwell and Upwey, and is the subject of a planning proposal to construct new dairying facilities. Eleven 30m long trial trenches were mechanically excavated, amounting to a c. 2.5% sample of the proposed impact area. No conclusively archaeological features were identified, but all eleven trenches produced evidence for prehistoric flint- and chert working. The majority of the flint assemblage is likely to be of later Neolithic and Early Bronze Age date, but a small Early Neolithic component was identified and some Middle-Late Bronze Age material may also be present. The greatest concentrations of lithic material lay in the central and south-eastern parts of the site, corresponding to the positions of trenches7 and 11. A natural feature believed to be a relict tree-throw was investigated in Trench 9 and also yielded worked flint and chert. The evaluation has provided a baseline characterisation of the site and has ruled-out the presence of extensive or large-scale archaeological remains within the proposed development area, but it was less able to assess the potential for smaller-scale, localised archaeological features or deposits to survive in association with the lithic scatters.'