Claydon Solar Farm, Tewkesbury - Post-excavation Assessment

Wessex Archaeology

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned to undertake archaeological mitigation works comprising the excavation of two areas ('Areas 1–2’) at Claydon Farm, Oxenton, Tewkesbury, in advance of the construction of a solar farm, battery storage facility and associated works.

The earliest archaeological activity encountered during the excavation was a Late Iron Age ring ditch located in the centre of Area 1. A Romano-British phase in Area 1 included a drip gully, a ditch and two pits. The majority of features were loosely dated as either Late Iron Age or Romano-British. These comprised penannular enclosures, ditches, and assorted pits and postholes. Medieval/post-medieval and modern activity was represented by remains of ridge and furrow that truncated earlier features in Area 1, and a single pit in Area 2. Five pits scattered across both areas were undated. The environmental assemblage did not generate any significant findings, because of the low numbers and poor preservation of environmental material.

Most of the recovered finds span the period from the mid-late prehistoric to earlier Romano-British period (c. 200/150 BC to AD 200), with a small amount of medieval to modern material. The assemblage is consistent with the expected range for the area, and there are no intrinsically interesting objects. The flint assemblage has some significance in representing the earliest activity at the site, however it is poorly stratified and small in size. Although the pottery has produced a basic chronology for the features, very few diagnostic sherds of pottery were recovered, meaning precise dating has proven difficult and further research potential is limited.

The results of the excavation are of a local importance, contributing to the current understanding of the Late Iron Age and Romano-British rural settlement in the area. The project overall (particularly the geophysical survey) has revealed the organisation of the landscape during the Late Iron Age and the Romano-British periods, including unexcavated areas of high potential to the north and northwest of the excavation areas. The contribution of these findings is limited however, due to the size of Areas 1 and 2, their location at the furthest extents of the areas of high potential, and the resulting low number of features encountered there.

No further analysis is recommended and the results have limited potential to usefully contribute to the regional research agenda. This report will be uploaded via the OASIS portal to the Archaeology Data Service and the Gloucestershire Historic Environment Record.