Sniperley Farm; Durham
NZ 2581 4423; Emma Allen; evaluation; April-May 2005; SNY 05.
The archaeological fieldwork at Sniperley Farm involved geophysical survey followed by the investigation of 11 evaluation trenches.
Natural glacial sands and clays were exposed in all 11 trenches. The earliest archaeological features encountered comprised the remains of a feature interpreted as a possible posthole in Trench 3 and a boundary or drainage ditch recorded in Trench 5. No artefactual material was recovered from either feature, but both were truncated by features of probable medieval origin. The remains of plough furrows were recorded in all trenches, except Trench 1. The relatively broad spacing of the features, which were recorded on three different alignments, suggests that they were derived from medieval agriculture. A linear feature in Trench 8 was interpreted as a boundary or drainage ditch, probably associated with the medieval ridge and furrow activity. A boundary ditch, from which pottery of 18th-19th century date was recovered,
was encountered in Trench 1. Later post-medieval and modern activity was represented by field drains, exposed in the majority of the trenches investigated. A developed ploughsoil formed the ground surface in each trench.
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