SDO15245 - Woodsford Farm, Woodsford, Dorset. Field 4 (Quarry Operations Phase B, Footpath and Conveyor Belt). An Interim Report.

‘This report documents the interim results of an excavation carried out of c.2ha of land at Woodsford Farm Quarry (SY 757 896) (Fig 1). The Woodsford Farm quarry is eventually to cover c.160ha and the extraction is to take place over several years. This current phase of fieldwork was undertaken on part of an arable field and a footpath between two quarry areas. The underlying geology is Quaternary fourth gravel terrace, with areas of head, clay-with-flints and Eocene sand (BGS 2000). The site is lies approximately at 47m above Ordnance Datum (AOD) . Planning permission (1/E/2005/0742) has been gained from Dorset County Council to extract minerals from this area. The consent has been gained subject to a condition which required a programme of archaeological works to excavate and record archaeological deposits prior to extraction or other damage The archaeological potential of the whole site has been demonstrated by archaeological evaluation comprising fieldwalking (CA 2005), machine dug trenches (CA 2006) and the western quarter (approximately 40ha) of the site by geophysical surveys (GSB 2007a; 2007b). All of this work has been summarized in a contribution to an Environmental Statement prepared as a part of the planning application. The evaluation revealed extensive areas of occupation and landscape features, some of which were visible in the geophysical survey results. The evaluation highlighted eleven, sometimes extensive, areas of higher archaeological potential representing deposits of early prehistoric through to Roman date. Recent archaeological excavations undertaken as part of the project (Phase 1 and Area A) on land to the north-west and west (Pine 2012 and Weale 2010) revealed a complex of land use in later Roman times with an extremely high intensity of land management in land directly to the west of this current phase of works (Fig. 2). Prehistoric activity is limited to a few sherds of Bronze Age pottery and flint artefacts; it is possible that a ring ditch recorded of Bronze Age date was found. This component of the project is to be combined with the results of earlier phases of excavation at the site and any subsequent phases.’