Morton Palms, Darlington
NZ 3232 1345; (Andrew Durkin); evaluation; 21st November-15th December 2000; MPD00
Twenty trenches were investigated some of which revealed evidence of medieval, post-medieval and modern agricultural activity.
The natural sub-stratum was encountered in the base of all trenches and consisted of orange/brown to red sandy clay with lenses and striations of yellow sand.
The trenches investigated in Field 1 (Trenches 1, 2 and 6) demonstrated that this area was severely truncated, probably as a result of clay extraction during the construction of the nearby A66. Trench 6, revealed a recent overburden of interleaving soils overlying a mixed subsoil. A linear gully of late post-medieval date was located in the western part of this trench.
Field 2 (Trenches 3- 5) proved to have been heavily cultivated, with Trenches 3 and 4 revealing evidence of intensive modern land drainage. Trench 5 contained two E-W gullies, interpreted as representing a post-medieval field boundary.
Field 3 (Trenches 7-11 and 20) was situated on a south-west facing slope with a watercourse at its base and was notable for an area of marsh in the lowest lying part. Trenches 7-10 were located in the marshy portion of Field 3 and Trench 7 revealed a pond, infilled with modern rubbish. There were no archaeological remains in Trenches 8-10.
Trench 20 was located on slightly higher ground in Field 3 and was sited to investigate a series of geophysical anomalies and a surface scatter of lithics. This trench contained two parallel gullies, aligned roughly E-W, which may have been of medieval date.
Trenches 12-15 were located on the north-east facing slope of Field 4. Trenches 13 and 14 revealed evidence of an earlier field system in the form of 'ridge and furrow' cultivation. A field boundary was recorded in the southern part of Trench 13. These remains could date from the medieval period. Trenches 12 and 15 contained no evidence of human activity with the exception of a single post-setting in Trench 12, interpreted as a modern feature.
Trenches 16- 18 were located on the higher southern portion of Field 4. Evidence for 'ridge and furrow' cultivation was recorded in Trenches 17 and 18 and these trenches also contained linear gullies. There was no evidence for any archaeological activity in Trench 16.
Trench 19 was located in Field 5 in the southernmost portion of the development area. A series of shallow parallel linear features running E-W across this trench have been interpreted as post-medieval plough scars.
The archaeological evaluation of the site demonstrated that there were no significant archaeological features present within the areas investigated and the paucity of finds recovered during excavation indicates a lack of intensive human occupation. The earliest archaeological evidence recorded on the site comprised medieval agricultural activity dated broadly to the 12th-15th centuries. Post-medieval and modern agricultural features were also recorded across the site.
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