A large ditch in the centre of one trench contained five fills. The uppermost fill was a firm dark grey blue silt clay 0.11m in thickness and contained twelve pottery sherds of Roman date. The middle fill was 0.29m thick and was a compact light brownish red silt clay containing 58 pottery sherds of Roman date and a further two sherds of post-Roman date. Additionally, 84 animal bone fragments were recovered from the middle fill deposit. A third fill contained 29 Roman pottery sherds and 86 animal bone fragments. A fourth fill was a firm mid greyish brown silt clay of 0.20m in thickness and contained no finds. The bottom fill was a 0.16m thick, soft mid blue grey silt containing eight pottery sherds dating to the Roman period.

Another trench revealed a sequence of nine intercutting ditches. The first ditch ran almost parallel to the sides of the trench and extended to around halfway down the trench from the southern end, before turning into the western baulk. It cut a smaller east to west orientated ditch at the southern end of the trench and was cut by another large ditch as it curves towards to west. A number of slots were excavated to determine the relationship of the ditch with the surrounding features. In total, 91 Roman pottery sherds, (including three Samian ware) and seven slag fragments were recovered from the first ditch and its various relationship slots.

East to west orientated ditch, in addition to cutting the first ditch, also cut a further ditch. A sondage was excavated to establish the relationship of the ditch to the surrounding ditches, revealing a series of further intercutting ditches below the ditch. Underlying the ditch was the southern extent of an indeterminate feature, which cut the uppermost of three fills. The nature and extent of these deposits was not identified and the bottom of one fill was not reached due to health and safety constraints. Whilst these deposits were a similar mid red brown silt clay too much of the mudstone natural, they contained seven Roman pottery sherds and one slag fragment, suggesting that they were probably earlier ditches of which the ditch was a later recut.

A slot was excavated to determine the nature of two ditches at the northern end of another trench and revealed that these were a series of interconnected ditches. The earliest ditch was cut by a second ditch. The second ditch was later cut by a third, of which another ditch was a recut. The other was cut by the latest ditch in the phase. The extent and orientations of these ditches was indeterminable in the confines of the trench. 45 Roman era pottery sherds and three post Roman sherds were recovered, in addition to seven slag fragments. The majority of the pottery sherds came from one deposit, the fill of the earliest ditch, providing a terminus ante quem for the sequence of ditches.

Four features were identified in a third trench: two parallel ditches, a further single ditch and a small pit. Two ditches were located at the western end of the trench, with the trench extended in this direction by 5m to determine the full extent of the western ditch. These ditches run adjacent to one another, with one ditch cutting the other. One ditch contained two fills. The first fill contained ten pottery sherds, ten animal bone fragments and one slag fragment, whilst the other fill contained five pottery sherds, seven animal bone fragments and two ferrous nails. The other ditch also contained two fills. Six pottery sherds, 76 animal bone fragments and one iron nail were discovered in one deposit, whilst the second deposit contained 55 animal bone fragments, one iron nail head and one slag fragment.

The further single ditch was located in the centre of the third trench and was filled by a single deposit, a 0.30m thick firm light brownish grey silt clay containing 58 pottery sherds, the majority of which was Roman, except for one sherd of prehistoric pottery.

The pit was located south of the single ditch. It was filled by a 0.16m thick firm mid greyish brown silt clay formed by natural silting. No finds were recovered, however the similarity of the fill to the nearby Roman features suggests that it is likely contemporary.

In a fourth trench was a large linear ditch orientated north to south, with a width of 2.18m and a depth of 0.54m. It contained two fills with thicknesses of 0.35m and 0.21m respectively. The upper fill contained 24 pottery sherds dating to the Roman period, whilst the bottom fill contained no finds. A posthole was cut through the bottom fill and contained two fills. Uppermost fill had a thickness of 0.28m whilst the bottom fill had a thickness of 0.22m and no finds were recovered from either deposit. The size and orientation downslope of the ditch suggests that it was used for drainage to the nearby watercourse.

Also in the fourth trench, was two ditches which were both shallow ditches each containing a single fill and located parallel to one another in the centre of the trench, orientated north to south. The fill of the first ditch was a soft brownish grey silt clay containing 57 Roman pottery sherds, eight iron nails, nine slag fragments and one piece of worked bone that was likely a hairpin. A further 80g of slag was recovered from the sample of this deposit. Additionally, there was a burnt and blackened piece of micaceous siltstone, which is unworked (136g). In comparison, the fill of the other ditch, contained 21 Roman and 15 Post Roman pottery sherds.

Two pits were located towards the eastern end of the fourth trench and similarly sized with single fills. The first pit was 0.79m in length, 0.23m in width and had a depth of 0.20m. The sole fill of this feature was a soft mid greyish brown silt clay containing 16 Roman pottery sherds of which two were Samian ware, 11.5g of shell and three slag fragments. Comparatively, the other pit had dimensions of 1.09m in length, 0.41m in width and 0.16m in depth. Discovered within the filling deposit of the other pit, were 32 pottery sherds of Roman date and two slag fragments.

A large north to south orientated ditch was located at the eastern extent of the fourth trench. Containing two fills, the ditch had a width of 1.76m and a depth of 0.64m. The uppermost fill was a soft very dark brownish grey silt clay containing 13 pottery sherds dating to the Roman period and two copper alloy brooch needles. The bottommost fill was a firm mid greyish brown silt clay containing two Roman pottery sherds. The size and orientation of the ditch suggests that, like the large linear ditch, it was used for drainage.

In a fifth trench, a single feature was identified. It was a ditch 2.60m in width and containing three fills. The uppermost fill was a firm dark greyish brown silt clay 0.40m thick and contained 29 pottery sherds, 41 animal bone fragments and a copper alloy brooch with needle. The brooch is a Romano-British open ring type dating to c. AD400 and provides a terminus ante quem for the ditch as a whole. The middle fill was 0.66m thick and contained 36 pottery sherds and 21 animal bone fragments. The bottom fill was fully excavated on the northern side of the ditch, with a thickness of 0.20m. Whilst the deposit continued to a greater depth on the southern side, it was not fully excavated due to health and safety constraints. The bottom fill contained three pottery sherds.

Jonathan Milton, 2023, Archaeological Evaluation Report: Trial Trenching at Wood Lane, Retford, Nottinghamshire (Unpublished document). SNT5822.