Partridge Hill Farm, Doncaster - Archaeological Evaluation Report

Wessex Archaeology

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned to undertake an archaeological evaluation of a parcel of land located adjacent to Partridge Hill Farm, High Common Lane, Austerfield, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, centred on NGR 464806 396426.

The uncovered features, comprising ditches, gullies and pits, represent evidence of Iron Age/Romano-British agricultural practices and settlement although several features remain of uncertain date due to a lack of artefactual material. All but a small proportion of the finds assemblage came from the southernmost field, and almost entirely comprises sherds of pottery dating to the Romano-British period. One residual flint artefact, of probable Neolithic/Bronze Age date, was found in a Middle Iron Age ditch.

The only artefactual evidence of activity post-dating the Romano- British period is two pieces of post-medieval pottery found within the topsoil. However, radiocarbon dating of the environmental assemblages from two pits that exhibited in-situ burning, produced Anglo-Norman dates and further analysis has shown that they represent the remains of charcoal production pit kilns. Two ditches to the north were interpreted as the remains of post-medieval field boundaries matching historic cartographic records.