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The report on the further investigations at Ladybridge Farm is now available in PDF format (8.77 MB). The summary of this report is given below.
The additional archaeological investigation of Ladybridge Farm comprised the excavation of four machine trenches (one 50m x 25m, three 100m x 50m). They were located to examine a proposed transition between Early Prehistoric archaeological deposits and an area of peat. The methodology and trench location was designed by English Heritage, North Yorkshire County Council and Mike Griffiths and Associates Ltd and the fieldwork was undertaken by On-Site Archaeology Ltd. Following the sieving of ploughsoil in each corner of each trench, the ploughsoil was machine excavated to expose the natural topsoil. All exposed soil features were mapped, photographed and recorded in plan. Soil features were then excavated according to the methodology set out in a brief which had been agreed prior to the start of work.
The investigation recorded the presence of eight Early Prehistoric pits containing Grooved Ware pottery, nine undated features, nine features relating to two post medieval field boundaries and a large number of natural features relating to sink holes and former vegetation on the site. The Early Prehistoric pits were located on a gravel rise close to the margins of an area which would have been wet throughout prehistory. The features were badly truncated, poorly preserved and with the exception of two post holes, contained little information regarding their function or purpose. The results of the additional investigation confirmed the previous archaeological evaluation of the site undertaken by Field Archaeology Specialists in 2003 and 2004. It showed that the proposed area of gravel extraction at Ladybridge Farm contained a scattered distribution of heavily eroded Early Prehistoric pits without focus and lacking environmental potential.
Following the fieldwork an assessment of the archaeology was undertaken using the criteria for scheduling as set out in Annex 4 of PPG16. This assessment included a review of published and unpublished comparative material from within the region and nationally. A further assessment of the remains was also undertaken using the MPP evaluation scoring system recently employed at Stonehenge by English Heritage. Both of the assessments indicated the archaeological remains discovered on Ladybridge Farm cannot be classed as of national importance which concurred with our professional judgement made previously.
In conclusion, the archaeological investigation of Ladybridge Farm has illustrated that the staged evaluation undertaken in 2003 and 2004 with a 2% physical sample was correct in its conclusions and that, following a thorough assessment of the importance of the archaeology on the site, it is our professional opinion that the archaeological features on Ladybridge Farm are not nationally important. We also conclude the deposits are clearly under an ongoing threat from current agricultural practice. Refusal of planning permission on archaeological grounds will not guarantee that the deposits are preserved in situ but rather contribute to their loss without an adequate, compensatory archaeological record.