Broom Lane, Ushaw Moor
NZ 230 424; (Robin Taylor-Wilson); evaluation; March 27th-April 2nd 2003; BRU03
Two trenches were investigated and these revealed evidence for agricultural land-use during the medieval or post-medieval period.
Natural sub-stratum, comprising silty clay, was exposed across Trench 1 and was encountered at a height of 103.52m AOD. In Trench 2 the natural comprised clayey silt and was encountered at 94.16m AOD, sloping down to the south-east to 93.49m AOD. These deposits are interpreted as representing the natural drift geology of the Deerness Valley, probably being of glacial or fluvioglacial origin.
In the south-eastern part of Trench 2, a substantial feature truncated the natural sub-stratum. This is interpreted as a palaeochannel, into which a modern field drain had been inserted.
Ridge-and-furrow earthworks in the north-west part of the site were investigated by Trench 1. Three furrows were recorded, these appearing as shallow N-S orientated features. Two shallow features were recorded at approximately the mid point of each of the two earthwork ridges, both were cut into the natural sub-stratum, in the same stratigraphic position as the furrows described above. It is possible that these features represent score marks made with a plough to indicate the intended location of each ridge when the field was initially laid out prior to cultivation. The precise date of the original ridge-and-furrow cultivation of this part of the site is uncertain. However, the distance between the excavated furrows here (greater than 6m in each case) broadly suggests that the activity did occur in the medieval period.
A layer of subsoil was recorded in section in Trench 1. This deposit is interpreted as having developed during the medieval period or earlier, being then reworked during the period of ridge-and-furrow agriculture in this part of the site.
Topsoil was recorded in Trenches 1 and 2 and these deposits are likely to have accumulated during or since the post-medieval period. In Trench 1, small sherds of post-medieval and modern pottery were observed within the topsoil, although these may have been introduced intrusively.
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