SDO21268 - Land adjacent to S Mary's Church, Motcombe

Three test trenches each measuring 2m by 1m were excavated at the corners of the concrete apron of a garage situated within the footprint of a proposed new dwelling. One hit the water supply to the garage and was abandoned. The other two trenches were excavated to a depth of approximately 900mm, where a very compact yellowish brown mineralised clay was seen, likely to be the natural subsoil. There was a dark humic topsoil containing a mixture of post-medieval and modern material. The hardcore and fill of the concrete foundation was also encountered in one of the trenches. No medieval or earlier artefacts were revealed, and the soils did not have the characteristics indicative of prolonged cultural activity.