SDO14488 - The Pig on the Beach, Studland, Dorset. Archaeological Watching Brief Report.

‘Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE), to carry out an archaeological watching brief during the installation of an 11kV electricity cable on land associated with The Pig on The Beach (formerly The Manor House Hotel), Manor Road, Studland, Dorset, centred on National Grid Reference (NGR) 403551 082730. The watching brief was carried out from the 2nd July - 4th July 2014. Ground investigations were proposed within a field to the west of The Pig on The Beach. The cable trench measured approximately 150m in length by 0.25m in width and reached a maximum depth of 1.20m. The route ran from the base of a transformer pole (Studland No. 4s/s), around the edge of the field to a point where it would cross the road towards a new supply location at the Coach House, an associated building located to the north of The Pig on The Beach. The archaeological watching brief was maintained during excavation of the trench associated with the cable installation. No archaeological features or deposits were encountered during the excavations and only one sherd of post-medieval pottery was recovered from a colluvial deposit. This was partly due to the substantial colluvial deposits noted within excavated area, which may still overly any potential surviving archaeological features, as well as the limited excavations necessary for the cable installation itself.’