Main Road, Redmile, Leicestershire - Archaeological Watching Brief

Wessex Archaeology

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned to undertake an archaeological watching brief during water pipeline replacement works along Main Road, Redmile, Leicestershire NG13 0GB. The area within which the watching brief occurred extended from the north-western edge of the village (NGR 479591, 335567) for 2.2 km north-west along Main Road to a point near Old Hill Farm (NGR 477955 336732). Main Road is thought to follow the course of a Roman road that formerly linked the Belvoir ridge to a settlement on the Fosse Way near Bingham (Roman
Margidunum).

The excavation of stretches of open-cut trenching, launch/reception pits for directional drilling and trial holes to intercept services was monitored during the watching brief. Following seven weeks of archaeological monitoring, during which time no remains of significance were observed, a ‘Toolbox Talk’ was delivered to groundworkers who then scanned their own works in the remaining areas for any archaeologically significant features.

No archaeological remains were identified before or after the Toolbox Talk, and notwithstanding the putative Roman road, the absence of archaeological remains supports the conclusions of an earlier Heritage Impact Assessment that noted the undeveloped and rural character of the land along most of the watching brief area. However, the narrow width of the intervention and the re-excavation of pre-existing cuts limits conclusions regarding the archaeological potential of the wider area around the monitored groundworks.