Linear features, likely Post-Medieval field boundaries, encountered during an evaluation.

One evaluation trench contained a single linear that did not appear to continue into any other trenches. It had a very wide cut, with edges that were very truncated from rooting, the fills were very hard and also contained some roots. The preservation of organic material in such a dry sandy soil implies that this feature may be reasonably modern, however it is not depicted on any historic mapping and no finds were recovered to accurately date the feature.

The geophysical survey identified a number of features in the northern field consisting of four linear features orientated east to west running across the field and two orientated north to south towards the eastern and western edges of the field. These were only identified during excavation in four trenches.

A ditch was excavated in three of the four evaluation trenches with the cut of the feature proving deeper and more defined towards the west in westernmost evaluation trench than that of the other two. From geophysical survey the trend could be identified as some kind of drainage related to agriculture. No finds were recovered to date the feature, although it was cut by a north to south ditch in the easternmost trench.

The north-south ditch was not present on historic mapping and was also not identified on the geophysical survey. It continued beyond the edges of the trench but was not identified in either a further trench to the north or an evaluation trench to the south. No finds were recovered from the feature, although it ran parallel to a field boundary suggesting a similar usage.

A further north to south feature identified was also identified inanother trench which also ran parallel to the field boundary, but on the western side of the feature. This ditch also not identified on the geophysical survey, or present on historic mapping, but could represent an earlier field system or drainage system respecting the recorded field boundary.

Another evaluation trench contained a ditch running north-east to south-west and parallel to another field boundary (identified on the tithe map and geophysical survey), running through fpur evaluation trenches. This ditch contained a very degraded metal pipe, this could have been a now dead service or had some other agricultural use. One of the four trenches contained a very shallow gully running north to south. This was not identified by the geophysical survey or on historic mapping. The regularity and uniformity of the cut make it likely that this feature is modern.

George Beardow, 2021, Tiln Solar Farm, Retford, Nottinghamshire: Archaeological Evaluation Phase 1 (Unpublished document). SNT6003.