Printed from the APC web site: navigation and non-essential images removed.
Please view on-line for full content (URL at end of document).
Following submission of the revised planning application for Ladybridge Farm, the mitigation strategy for the site was discussed at a meeting between North Yorkshire County Council and English Heritage. As a result of that meeting North Yorkshire County Council requested further clarification on a number of matters relating to the proposed archaeological works on the site. The following document sets out this additional information and addresses the matters raised. It was submitted to North Yorkshire County Council on the 24th October.
Following consultation with the Heritage Unit at North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) and responses received from English Heritage the following information has been provided as way of further clarification and should be read in conjunction with the revised application.
The entire Ladybridge Farm site will be subject to total collection fieldwalking prior to any groundworks. This will include both the revised application area and the area of archaeological potential in the southwest portion of the site. The objective of the exercise is to recover a comparative data set to the previous total collection fieldwalking undertaken in 2003. The exercise will be undertaken using the same methodology and recording techniques as utilised in the previous investigation (FAS 2003).
The site will be worked by Tarmac Northern in three separate phases. These are shown in Figure 8. The archaeological mitigation has been designed to reflect this and is shown in Figure 9.
The northeastern half of the extraction area will be will be subject to a strip, map and sample approach, executed during the extraction works of each phase. Following stripping no extraction works shall commence until sampling has been completed and the area has been cleared by the site director. In the event that unexpected significant discoveries are found in the normal investigation areas, the Heritage Unit at NYCC will be informed and the excavation strategy reviewed accordingly. Where appropriate significant discoveries will be fenced off and preserved by record as part of a separate excavation area.
The areas of enhanced archaeological investigation will be stripped in advance of quarry working and treated as distinct archaeological excavations. The phasing of these Excavation Areas is shown in Figure 9. In total there are eight separate Excavation Areas. Where appropriate, each area will be subdivided into 1ha units and referenced by their National Grid reference.
Following excavation, no quarry working will commence in these areas until they have been signed off by a representative of Mike Griffiths and Associates Ltd and a representative of North Yorkshire County Council.
The completion of each area will mark a review point in the project. This will provide an opportunity to assess the effectiveness of the sampling strategy at meeting its objectives. As a result of this review the sampling strategy and methodology employed on site may be modified as part of an iterative process. Any modification to the sampling strategy which comes about as part of this process will be the subject of consultation with NYCC and the Regional Science Advisor at English Heritage and approval by the Heritage Unit at NYCC
The initial phase of archaeological works will comprise the excavation of the haul road and Area 1. The archaeological works will progress in advance of the quarry in numerical order. Areas 1 to 5 correspond with Phase 6 of the Extraction works as indicated in the ES, Areas 6 and 7 to Phase 7 and Area 8 with Phase 8.
The line of the haul road in the field to the south of Ladybridge Farm will be fixed along its proposed route. The road area will be stripped, mapped and assessed. Archaeological deposits along its line will be preserved by record as part of the enhanced archaeological investigation in Excavation Area 1.
The application area will be fenced off following planning approval. The line of the bund will be marked out using a total station theodolite. The bund will be created using topsoil stripped from the excavation of Area 2.
Environmental sampling will be undertaken in accordance with the latest guidelines, and, where appropriate in consultation with the relevant specialists and the Regional Science Advisor for English Heritage.
The methodology of excavating and sampling sink holes will be an iterative process. The significance of these deposits in answering questions relating to the past vegetational history of the site and wider area have been subject to recent discussion by a number of specialists (Innes 2005 pers comm., Carter 2005 pers comm.). Initially it proposed to use the methodology that has been developed and applied on The Flasks, Nosterfield Quarry to assess and excavate peat deposits and sink holes.
It is proposed to use the following specialist for the project; The project will be executed by Mike Griffiths and Associates Ltd. Once planning permission has been granted a suitably qualified and experienced field team will be appointed to undertake the fieldwork.
Subject |
Specialist |
Organisation |
Pottery (prehistoric) |
Blaise Vyner |
|
Pottery (Roman) |
Alice Lyons |
|
Pottery (Medieval) |
Alan Vince |
AVAC |
Lithics |
Peter Rowe |
|
Glass |
Alice Lyons |
|
Human Remains |
Malin Holst |
York Osteoarchaeology |
Environmental Processing |
John Carrot |
Palaeaoecology Research Services |
Environmental Sampling |
Jim Innes |
Durham University |
Soil Science Consultants |
Stephen Carter |
Headland Archaeology |
Zooarchaeology |
Stephen Rowland |
Oxford North |
The archaeological investigation will be monitored at appropriate intervals by Mike Griffiths and Associates Ltd. Representatives from the NYCC will be invited to attend regular site visits to comment on and discuss the results of the investigation. Where appropriate, the Regional Science Advisor from English Heritage will be also be invited to attend.
The project will be reviewed following the completion of each Excavation Area and at other intervals where appropriate. Any such review will be undertaken in consultation with NYCC. The exercise will seek to review and modify where necessary the sampling strategy and methodologies currently employed on site as part of an iterative process.. The results of the review will be documented and an account of it will be put in the public domain via the Nosterfield pages of the Mike Griffiths and Associates Ltd website.
A final field report will be produced following completion of the field work and necessary assessments. The final field report will present the results of the investigation to be submitted to and approved by NYCC as an account of the works undertaken on the site. The document will seek to integrate the results of the investigation with those of Nosterfield Quarry and place them in the context of the wider area. Comparative information will be obtained from all available unpublished and published sources.
The final field report and all specialist and assessment reports will be published on Mike Griffiths and Associates Ltd web site and notes prepared for submission to a relevant journal if appropriate.
In addition to a field report a non technical publication will be produced for the general public. This document will serve to present the archaeology of Ladybridge Farm and Nosterfield Quarry and the contribution that this has made to the understanding of the area.
The site archive will be offered to the museum at Bedale for deposition. In the event that this is not possible due to capacity etc. then the material will be deposited with the Yorkshire Museum. Tarmac reserve the right to keep specific items for display in their Visitors Centre or other venues.
It is proposed to display the results of the archaeological works in the Visitors Centre at Nosterfield Quarry during the lifetime of the project. It is anticipated that this will form a static display and if appropriate house finds from the investigation. The display will be updated at regular intervals and the Visitors Centre will be accessible on a daily basis.
For health and safety reasons public access to the site will not be possible. It is proposed that a weekly diary is therefore published on the web site and also displayed in the Visitors Centre. Mike Griffiths and Associates would be able to provide additional information regarding the work on request.
Tarmac has held discussions with the landowner seeking the preservation of potential archaeological deposits in the southwest corner of the Ladybridge farm site and will continue to facilitate discussions regarding the future use of this area.
However, it must be recognised that Tarmac does not have legal title to this land, nor will it have in the future. Ultimately therefore, ownership will continue to rest with the existing landowner.