Normanton
Golf Course
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Zone 1 consisted of the area of arable field to the south of Whin Beck. Aerial photographs had indicated the presence of a series of linear cropmarks running SW/NE across the hillside. These had then been the subject of a gradiometer survey (Intervention 1), the results from which (see Figure 2) not only confirmed the presence of the cropmark ditches but also revealed the presence of ploughed out ridge and furrow cultivation.
Zone 1 was evaluated by the excavation of two separate roadlines, Intervention 3 (in 1998) and Intervention 22 (in 1999) (Figure 8). The ploughsoil (C1000) varied in depth between 0.3m and 0.4m and was removed by machine to reveal a variable natural subsoil (C1001). At the western end of the site, this deposit comprised outcrops of friable sandstone covered in areas by layers of variable boulder clay. To the east C1001 became predominately sandier before changing to a homogenous yellow clay in which seams of coal were visible. A series of linear features aligned NW/SE were visible cutting through the subsoil at regular intervals along the excavated road line of Intervention 3. These represented the remains of furrows running down-slope toward Whin Beck. Between the furrows a series of earlier ditch features were defined and sampled.
Period 1
The earliest features identified within Intervention 3 comprised a series of ditches clearly defined against natural subsoil (C1001) which were cut by the medieval furrows. Despite extensive sampling no dating evidence was forthcoming from any of these features.
F45 appeared to form the main element to the field system. This feature was aligned SW/NE and was identified running into the site from the western boundary. Along with its equivalent in the eastern half of Intervention 3, F55, this ditch could be followed across the slope of the hill for a distance of 280m. At its eastern end F55 became gradually thinner and terminated. This was a result of truncation caused by modern ploughing as opposed to a deliberate terminus of the ditch. This phenomenon was also visible in the distribution of furrows which thinned and disappeared in this area on the high point of the hill.
F45 appeared to have a spur which ran southwards at the western end of Intervention 3. This spur was followed in a series of machine trenches running along a NW/SE alignment beyond the limits of the development. The intersection of the spur and the main SW/NE element of the ditch was sampled, the results from which, indicated that the features were contemporary and had been backfilled at the same time with the same material (C1046).
An additional fifteen hand-excavated samples were excavated through F45 and F55 between the furrows (Figure 9 and 10) (Plate 4). The resulting sections are shown in Figure 10. F45 was backfilled with a homogenous deposit of blue grey clay which contained frequent iron pan flecks and evidence of oxidisation within its matrix. Several rounded cobbles which were reddened and blackened either through mineral staining or burning were recovered from the backfill. F45 varied in width between 0.8 and 1.1m and had a distinctive U-shaped profile with a flat, slightly concave base, surviving to a depth of between 0.3m and 0.5m.
Plate 4. Intervention 3, F45, looking northeast, scale 2.00 metres.
To the east of Intervention 3, where the subsoil became sandier, the backfill of the ditch (C1056, F55) consisted of a homogenous deposit of brown sandy clay which contained frequent inclusions of small sandstone fragments and rare charcoal flecks. The bottom of the feature at this point stopped on the top of a layer of natural sandstone giving the ditch profile a flat base. F55 survived to a depth of 0.4m and measured 1.5m wide at its widest point. There was no evidence for a bank or silting in any of the profiles of the ditch which suggests that it was backfilled in a single episode.
Running parallel to and 55m to the south of F45 was a second ditch (F52). This feature was defined, mapped and sampled. F52 comprised the truncated remains of a SW/NE ditch, 0.9m wide, 0.15m deep with a regular U-shaped profile. This feature was backfilled with C1053, which consisted of a firmly compacted deposit of silty clay. A distinctive band of gleyed clay was visible 0.1m from the base of the feature.
It is probable that F45, F55 and F52 represent the remains of a ditched field system of Roman date, since the landscape appears to be reorganised along these lines during this period.
F52 was cut by another linear feature (F51). The intersection between the two features was quadrant excavated (Figure 11) and the resulting sections are shown in Figure 12. F51 appeared to be heavily truncated, surviving to a depth of only 0.05m. It comprised a shallow cut with a U-shaped profile and was 0.5m wide. This feature shared the same NW/SE alignment of the adjacent furrows but was considerably narrower and did not fit into the regular intervals which were evident elsewhere in Intervention 3.
F48 was defined (after the removal of a thick deposit of colluvium, C1085) within a 2.0m wide sondage along a northern spur of the roadline Intervention 3. It was an east-west aligned ditch, 0.5m wide, and backfilled with a firm deposit of grey clay (C1049). This deposit contained lenses of orange staining and iron pan as well as a distinctive band of gleyed clay within its matrix. The final form of F48 was that of a 0.4m deep cut with a regular U-shaped profile and a shallow concave base with sides that sloped at approximately 45 degrees. F48 was not identified elsewhere within the road system despite attempting to locate it with machine cut sondages to the east and west. The alignment of F48 suggests that it was not associated with the field system identified to the north.
Period 4
The furrows identified within Intervention 3 appeared to be part of the system of medieval cultivation which could still be seen in the form of earthworks across the golf course. All appeared to run from the top of the slope downhill to Whin Beck on a SE/NW alignment. The furrows varied in width between 0.7m and 3.5m. This difference in the recorded size of each furrow had been produced by differential truncation of the subsoil by modern ploughing. The distance between each furrow varied between 5.8m and 7.2m (centre to centre).
The furrows were sealed in two areas by a thick blanket of colluvium (C1086), one in the northwest and one in the northeast of Intervention 3 (see Figure 8). This deposit of mottled brown silty clay varied in depth between 0.1 and 0.4m and would appear to represent an accumulation of material which postdates the destruction of the ridge and furrow earthworks in this field. It is also possible, however, that it represents the remains of the ploughsoil associated with the ridge and furrow system.
In the northwestern area of Intervention 4 the colluvium (C1086) was cut by two stone lined field drains (F46 and F47) (Figure 13 and 14); both of these features were aligned SW/NE. F46 was 0.45m wide, 0.3m deep and was lined with sandstone slabs set on edge (C1047). The top of the drain was covered with a lid formed by additional sandstone fragments. F47, 1.1m to the south was 0.6m wide, more substantial than F46, but of a similar construction.
Similar features were identified in the southwestern limits of Intervention 22. Here a slightly curving NW/SE aligned flat bottomed trench (F246), 0.3m wide, was sampled. It contained within its backfill a number of sandstone blocks in addition to an assemblage of animal bone and tile. A similar feature was identified 2.4m to the north running parallel. These stone filled trenches appear to represent a phase of drainage of post-medieval date.
A series of ceramic land drains were recorded running from SE/NW across the northeastern corner of Intervention 3. These features were aligned roughly along the base of the medieval furrows. This suggests that the earthworks were still a feature in the landscape when the drains were constructed, a phenomenon which was recorded elsewhere across the site, particularly in Intervention 2.
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