110-118 Kidmore Road, Caversham, Reading, Berkshire
An Archaeological Evaluation
for Charles Church Homes
by Danielle Milbank
Thames Valley Archaeological Services
Ltd
Site Code KRC 07/110
October 2007
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Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, 47–49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading RG1 5NR
Tel. (0118) 926 0552; Fax (0118) 926 0553; email [email protected]; website : www.tvas.co.uk
Summary
Site name: 110-118 Kidmore Road, Caversham, Reading, Berkshire Grid reference: SU 7086 7588 Site activity: Field Evaluation Date and duration of project: 9th - 16th October 2007 Project manager: Steve Ford Site supervisor: Danielle Milbank Site code: KRC 07/110 Area of site: c. 0.54 ha Summary of results: No archaeological deposits or features were observed during the evaluation, though a pottery sherd of probable Bronze Age/ Early Iron Age date was recovered from the modern overburden. Location and reference of archive: The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited with Reading Museum in due course. This report may be copied for bona fide research or planning purposes without the explicit permission of the copyright holder Report edited/checked by: Steve Ford 22.10.07 Steve Preston 22.10.07
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110-118 Kidmore Road, Caversham, Reading, Berkshire An Archaeological Evaluation
by Danielle Milbank
Report 07/110
Introduction
This report documents the results of an archaeological field evaluation carried out at 110-118 Kidmore Road,
Caversham, Reading, Berkshire (SU 7086 7588) (Fig. 1). The work was commissioned by Mr Alan Murren of
Charles Church Homes, Charles Church House, Knoll Road, Camberley, Surrey, GU15 3TQ.
A planning application (06/01272/FUL) has been granted by Reading Borough Council for the construction
of new housing on the site, following the demolition of 110 and 114 Kidmore Road. This consent is subject to a
condition relating to archaeology, which requires a programme of archaeological works to be carried out prior to
commencement of groundworks. In this case, the programme of works was to begin with a field evaluation, on
the basis of the results of which an appropriate mitigation strategy could be devised if required. This is in
accordance with the Department of the Environment’s Planning Policy Guidance, Archaeology and Planning
(PPG16 1990), and the Borough Council’s policies on archaeology.
The field investigation was carried out to a specification approved by Mr Mike Hall, Archaeology Officer
with Berkshire Archaeology, adviser to the Borough Council on archaeological matters. The fieldwork was
undertaken by Danielle Milbank and James McNicholl-Norbury between 9th and 16th October 2007 and the site
code is KRC 07/110. The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will
be deposited with Reading Museum in due course.
Location, topography and geology
The site lies on the east side of Kidmore Road, in Caversham, which lies to the north of Reading town centre
(Figs 1 and 2). According to the British Geological Survey, the underlying geology of the site consists of Upper
Chalk and Plateau Gravel (BGS 1946), though more recent and detailed geological maps show the site located
on gravel which comprises the Boyn Hill Terrace (Wymer 1968). Chalk was encountered in trench 9, whereas
clay-with-flints geology was encountered throughout Trenches 1 to 8. The front of the site on Kidmore Road lies
at a height of 62.15m above Ordnance Datum, and the ground level slopes down to the north-west and west, to
59.8m and 55.6m above Ordnance Datum respectively.
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Archaeological background
The archaeological potential of the site stems from its location in an area where prehistoric and Roman finds
have been recorded (information from the Berkshire Sites and Monuments Record). The site lies close to the
Smiths Pit and Kidmore Road former gravel pits noted for their prolific finds of Palaeolithic artefacts (Wymer
1968, 183). At a greater distance from the site was the finding of a hoard of three Bronze Age axes and an Iron
Age gold coin at Emmer Green Primary School, with Roman coins, a Palaeolithic stone tool, and Iron Age
deposits also present.
Objectives and methodology
The purpose of the evaluation was to determine the presence/absence, extent, condition, character, quality and
date of any archaeological deposits within the area of development. The work was to be carried out in a manner
which would not compromise the integrity of archaeological features or deposits which might warrant
preservation in situ, or might be better recorded under conditions pertaining to full excavation.
The specific research aims of the project were;
To determine if archaeologically relevant levels have survived on this site.
To determine if archaeological deposits of any period are present.
To determine if there are any prehistoric, Roman or medieval deposits present on the site.
It was proposed to dig nine trenches, each 15m long and 1.6m wide, using a Kubota-type mechanical excavator,
fitted with a toothless ditching bucket, under constant archaeological supervision. The trenches were located
within the footprint of the proposed new development, targeting the house footprints in particular.
The full depth of archaeological deposits above the natural geology was to be established, with the trenches
being shored or battered to facilitate access to deep deposits, if necessary. Where archaeological features or
deposits were certainly or probably present, the stripped areas were to be cleaned using appropriate hand tools
and sufficient of the features or deposits sampled to satisfy the project aims outlined above.
Results (Figs 3 and 4)
Trenches 1, 6, 8 and 9 were dug shorter than intended due to the presence of fences around protected trees, and
other trenches were lengthened and/or widened in order to compensate for this. Due to the width of the
machine’s bucket, the trenches varied in width from 1.7m to 2m. A complete list of trenches giving lengths,
breadths, depths and a description of sections and geology is given in Appendix 1.
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Trench 1 This trench was aligned south east–north west, and was 13.4m long and 1.70m wide. It was excavated to a depth
of 0.46m. Topsoil 0.20m thick overlay brown grey silt subsoil 0.26m thick. This in turn overlay the natural
geology, which was firm orange red sandy clay with occasional flints and vague broad bands of slightly darker
clay, which small hand-dug slots confirmed as natural. No archaeological finds or features were encountered.
Trench 2
This trench was aligned south west – north east, and was 15.8m long and 1.8m wide. It was excavated to a depth
of 0.40m. Overall, topsoil 0.20m thick directly overlay the geology, which was firm orange red sandy clay with
occasional flints. At the southwest end, topsoil 0.15m thick overlay a layer of modern made ground (which
comprised topsoil with brick rubble and glass jar fragments) which was 0.05m thick. No archaeological features
were encountered, though an abraded sherd of likely Bronze Age or Early Iron Age pottery was recovered from
the made ground layer.
Trench 3 This trench was aligned south east – north west and was 15.2m long and 1.8m wide. It was excavated to a depth
of 0.40m. Topsoil 0.23m thick directly overlay the natural geology, which was firm orange red sandy clay with
occasional to moderate flints. No archaeological finds or features were encountered.
Trench 4 This trench was aligned west–east, and was 15.5m long and 1.8m wide. It was excavated to a depth of 0.50m.
Topsoil 0.30m thick directly overlay the natural geology, which was firm orange red sandy clay with occasional
to moderate flints. No archaeological finds or features were encountered.
Trench 5 This trench was aligned south east–north west, and was 13.4m long. It was excavated to a depth of 0.58m at the
southeast end, and 0.30 at the northwest, where subsoil was not present. At the southeast end, topsoil 0.26m
thick overlay grey brown silty subsoil with occasional brick flecks 0.32m thick. This in turn overlay the natural
geology, which was firm orange red sandy clay with occasional flints and, as in Trench 1, ill-defined broad
bands of very slightly darker clay, which a hand-dug slot confirmed as natural. No archaeological finds or
features were encountered.
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Trench 6 This trench was aligned south west–north east, and was 12.50m long and 1.8m wide. It was excavated to a depth
of 0.26m. Topsoil 0.23m thick overlay the natural geology, which was firm orange red clay with occasional flints
and chalk flecks. No archaeological finds or features were encountered.
Trench 7 This trench was aligned south west–north east, and was 15.30m long and 1.8m wide (Plate 1). It was excavated
to a depth of 0.51m. Topsoil 0.20m thick overlay brown grey silt subsoil 0.20m thick. This in turn overlay the
natural geology, which was firm orange red clay with frequent small and occasional medium-large flints and
chalk patches. No archaeological finds or features were encountered.
Trench 8 This trench was aligned south east–north west, and was 5.50m long and 2m wide. It was excavated to a depth of
0.58m. Topsoil 0.22m thick overlay brown grey silt subsoil 0.36m thick. This in turn overlay the natural
geology, which was firm orange red clay with moderate to frequent flints. No archaeological finds or features
were encountered.
Trench 9 This trench was aligned south east–north west, and was 7.2m long and 2m wide (Plate 2). It was excavated to a
depth of 0.85m, with a test pit at the southeast end to 1.21m. Topsoil 0.20m thick overlay orange brown silt
subsoil which was 0.74m thick. This in turn overlay the natural geology, which was friable white chalk with
occasional medium and large flint nodules, and orange brown silt streaks. No archaeological finds or features
were encountered.
Conclusion
Despite the potential for archaeological deposits to have survived on this site, no archaeological deposits or
features were encountered in any of the evaluation trenches. The abraded pottery sherd recovered from the
modern made ground layer in Trench 2 can be assumed to be redeposited and does not necessarily come from the
environs of the site.
The presence of chalk geology in the area of Trench 9 suggests this trench may be located on or very near
the boundary of the chalk with gravel on the geological map. The geology across the site was anticipated to be
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Boyn Hill terrace gravel, but this was not present; throughout Trenches 1 to 8, orange red clay with varying
proportions of large, medium sized and small flint nodules was visible.
The slight changes in the hue of the clay, from slightly lighter to darker red orange in Trenches 1 and 5,
which appeared as ill-defined broad bands, can be attributed to subsequent drifting of clay deposits down the
natural slope (colluvium). On average, the clay contained larger flint nodules at the east (highest) part of the site,
while toward the western and lower part the flint inclusions were more rounded and generally smaller and more
frequent, and rough sorting of the inclusions in this manner also suggests natural colluvial action.
The negligible amount of modern truncation or intrusion to the natural deposits would provide ideal
conditions for any archaeological features to be identified, but it appears that the garden area of the site has not
been occupied or significantly disturbed in any archaeological period. Based on the results of the evaluation, it
seems that the archaeological potential of the area to be developed is quite low, and that there is little chance of
archaeological deposits being destroyed during the proposed groundworks.
References
BGS, 1946, British Geological Survey, 1:50000, Sheet 268, Drift Edition, Keyworth PPG16, 1990, Archaeology and Planning, Dept of the Environment Planning Policy Guidance 16, HMSO Wymer, J, 1968, Lower Palaeolithic Archaeology in Britain, London
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APPENDIX 1: Trench details
Trench Length (m) Breadth (m) Depth (m) Comment 1 13.40 1.7 0.46 0-0.20m topsoil; 0.20-0.46m grey brown silt subsoil; 0.46m+ firm orange red
clay with flints (natural geology). 2 15.80 1.8 0.40 0-0.20m topsoil; 0.20m+ orange clay with flints (natural geology). Made
ground lens at SW end 0.15m-0.20m 3 15.20 1.8 0.40 0-0.23m topsoil; 0.23m+ orange clay with flints (natural geology). 4 15.50 1.8 0.50 0-0.30m topsoil; 0.30m+ orange clay with flints (natural geology). 5 15.10 1.6 0.58 0-0.26m topsoil; 0.26-0.58m grey brown silt subsoil; 0.58m+ orange clay with
flints (natural geology). 6 12.50 1.8 0.26 0-0.23m topsoil; 0.23m+ orange clay with flints (natural geology). 7 15.30 1.8 0.51 0-0.20m topsoil; 0.20-0.40m grey brown silt subsoil; 0.40m+ orange clay with
flints (natural geology). [Plate 1] 8 5.50 2.0 0.66 0-0.22m topsoil; 0.22-0.58m grey brown subsoil; 0.58m+ orange clay with
flints (natural geology). 9 7.20 2.0 0.85 0-0.20m topsoil; 0.20-0.74m grey brown silt subsoil; 0.74m+ orange clay with
flints (natural geology). [Plate 2]
110-118 Kidmore Road, Caversham, Reading,Berkshire, 2007
Archaeological evaluation
Figure 1. Location of site within Readingand Berkshire.
Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Pathfinder 1172 SU 67/77 at1:12500.
Ordnance Survey Licence 100025880
SU71000 72000
SITE
KRC 07/110
SITE
76000
77000
110-118 Kidmore Road, Caversham, Reading,Berkshire, 2007
Archaeological evaluation
Figure 2. Detailed location of site off Kidmore Road.
75900
75860
75980
SITE
KRC07/110
N
SU 70820 70860 70900 70940
Scale 1:1250
Kidm
ore Road
75940
KRC 07/110Figure 3. Location of trenches.
N
110-118 Kidmore Road, Caversham, Reading, Berkshire, 2007
SU70860
75940
75860
75900
70900
8
9
7
5
43
2
1
6
0 25m
KRC 07/110Figure 4. Representative section of Trenches 4 and 7.
110-118 Kidmore Road, Caversham, Reading, Berkshire, 2007
0 1m
Orange red sandy clay with occasional flints (natural geology)
Orange red sandy clay with occasional flints (natural geology)
Orange brown silt (subsoil)
Garden topsoil
Garden topsoil
SW
SW
NE
NE
base of trench
base of trench
Plate 1. Trench 7 looking southwest, scales: 1m and 2m. Plate 2. Trench 9 looking north west, scales: 1m and 2m.
KRC 07/110