Byron's Drift, Greenhead, Tynedale; Northumberland
NY 6634 6487; Adrian Bailey; watching brief; December 2005; BYD 05
An archaeological watching brief was undertaken on land at Byron's Drift, Greenhead, Tynedale. The work was commissioned by NEDL and involved monitoring groundworks associated with the excavation of trenches to house poles to carry a new overhead electricity supply.
The site lies c. 1km to the south of Hadrian's Wall, which has Scheduled Ancient Monument status in this area, and very close to the course of a Roman road, known as Maiden Way, which leads to Carvoran Roman fort c. 0.7km to the north. Carvoran (Magnis) Roman fort is situated near the crest of the steep west-facing slope overlooking the gap in the Tipalt Valley, so as to guard this important topographical location and the junction of the Stanegate and Maiden Way roads. The fort probably originated from the same period as the Stanegate, c. AD 80, and was later included in the Hadrianic frontier. The site also lies immediately to the north-west of Blenkinsopp Castle, a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade II Listed Building. Originally a massive tower with vaulted basements and a surrounding wall, it may date back to the 14th century, but was rebuilt in the 1870s as a
Victorian mansion.
Five areas of trenching were monitored, all located in a field to the north of the A69 and adjacent to Tipalt Burn. Sandy homogeneous deposits of extensive thickness were encountered across four of the monitored areas and these were interpreted as floodplain deposits. Alluvial clay was encountered in the most southerly trench, which was located adjacent to a small beck and this may have been deposited by a previous version of this watercourse. The alluvial clay was overlain by sandy floodplain material. No features or deposits of archaeological significance were encountered during the course of the investigation.
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