PCA undertook an archaeological evaluation comprising 36 trenches on the site of a proposed Solar Farm. The proposed development site covers 52 hectares and will comprise the installation of 93,132 solar panels with a maximum capacity of 49.9MW and a grid connection to a local substation.
The potential for prehistoric and Romano-British remains on site was initially identified by desk-based assessment and subsequent geophysical survey. The survey identified anomalies that potentially dated from the Bronze Age to post-medieval periods. A trial trench evaluation was undertaken to further investigate, which revealed geological deposits, an Iron Age enclosure, Roman remains, undated archaeological features, and evidence of post-medieval agriculture.
The enclosure was found to be a substantial sub-square ditch with a central roundhouse, which suggests a small Iron Age farmstead considered to be of regional significance. Roman remains identified were thought to represent a roadside settlement with possible livestock enclosures. The survey depicted the northern enclosure of the roadside settlement to be c.76m north-south by between 53-58m east-west with two possible internal divisions. A moderate quantity of carbonised cereal grain, with the majority of the assemblage identifiable, was recovered from environmetal samples. Fuel ash slag was also present within the ditch.
The geophysical survey also revealed two parallel linear anomalies aligned east-west. These were identified as ditches either side of a Roman road (HER H6695) that was observed for 230m east-west. The road surface was exposed and comprised an agger deposit c. 4.08m wide and 0.14m thick. The road’s construction largely conforms to that generally seen for most other Roman roads in Britain. Roads were generally laid upon a well-constructed embankment (agger) of varying height, in order to provide a properly drained base and foundation. The material for the agger was generally derived from the excavation of a broad scoop-ditch along one or both sides of the road, or sometimes from a series of pits alongside it. Some roads had a road zone set out prior to construction; this delineated by parallel, narrow shallow ditches. These were placed well back from the road with the agger built centrally between them. Margary (Roman Roads of Britain 1965, 22) noted that the widths recorded for such zones indicated two classes of main roads, one with ditches c. 25.50m apart and secondary class with ditches c. 18.90m apart. In upland areas it was common for only a single ditch to be excavated directly adjacent to each side of the road with the outer ditches being non-existent. The small pottery assemblage recovered from Hawthorn Pit Solar Farm is indicative of mid-late Roman activity on the site.
The discovery of the Roman settlement adds to the growing body of evidence for Roman period rural settlement in County Durham which was almost unknown until the beginning of the 21st century until the establishment of developer funded archaeology.
