Site Event/Activity record ENT4857 - Evaluation at Cotmoor Solar Farm, Halloughton

Location

Location Cotmoor Solar Farm, Halloughton, Nottinghamshire
Grid reference Centred SK 68083 52343 (2231m by 1776m)
Map sheet SK65SE
District Newark
Civil Parish Halloughton, Newark

Technique(s)

Organisation

Cotswold Archaeology

Date

Not recorded.

Map

Description

The proposed development site is approximately 102.5ha in extent located to the north of Halloughton and 1.3km to the southwest of Southwell. The site currently comprises fourteen agricultural fields and is bounded on all sides by further agricultural land. The boundaries largely comprise hedges with occasional wire and wooden fencing. The evaluation fieldwork comprised the excavation of 79 trenches each measuring 50m x 1.8m. The trenches were located to test geophysical anomalies and to provide a representative sample of the remainder of the site. The archaeological remains recorded exclusively relate to agricultural practice during the medieval/ post-medieval and modern periods. This is consistent with the results of the previous archaeological works undertaken on the site. The geophysical survey proved more effective than the evaluation in identifying the remains of the former agricultural landscape, likely due to the extensive modern ploughing truncating the furrow bases, which were not cut into the natural substrate. The ditches revealed on site are all likely former field boundary ditches relating to agricultural activity, with five ditches mirroring the alignment and closely relating to boundaries shown on historical mapping from 1841. Two other ditches do not correlate with a boundary identified on historic mapping but are comparable with alignments on the geophysical anomalies indicating furrows suggesting they represents a former field boundary associated with former field systems. Some of the ditches investigated had been deliberately backfilled as part of amalgamating several smaller fields into larger ones. The geophysical survey identified the potential for varying alignments of the furrows, indicative of established open field systems. However, the results of the evaluation are insufficient to establish any dating to the phasing. One pit was backfilled with burnt material with the charred hazelnut shell and charcoal producing a radiocarbon date of 1043 - 1152±23 yr BP, placing the feature at the end of the late Anglo-Saxon / medieval period. No medieval remains were previously identified within the site; the pit likely relates to the medieval ridge and furrow are present to the south and north of the site. Another pit, possibly a marl pit, is consistent with the agricultural activity identified on site, and was likely backfilled in the modern period, associated with the amalgamation of smaller fields on site.

Sources/Archives (1)

  • --- Unpublished document: Ralph Brown. 2022. Cotmoor Solar Farm, Halloughton, Nottinghamshire: Archaeological Evaluation.

Related Monuments/Buildings (9)

  • Ditch at Cotmoor Solar Farm, Halloughton (Element)
  • Ditch at Cotmoor Solar Farm, Halloughton (Element)
  • Ditch at Cotmoor Solar Farm, Halloughton (Element)
  • Ditch at Cotmoor Solar Farm, Halloughton (Element)
  • Ditch at Cotmoor Solar Farm, Halloughton (Element)
  • Ditch at Cotmoor Solar Farm, Halloughton (Element)
  • Ditch at Cotmoor Solar Farm, Halloughton (Element)
  • Pit at Cotmoor Solar Farm, Halloughton (Element)
  • Pit at Cotmoor Solar Farm, Halloughton (Element)

Record last edited

Feb 14 2024 3:53PM

Comments and Feedback

Do you have any questions or more information about this record? Please feel free to comment below with your name and email address. All comments are submitted to the website maintainers for moderation, and we aim to respond/publish as soon as possible. Comments, questions and answers that may be helpful to other users will be retained and displayed along with the name you supply. The email address you supply will never be displayed or shared.