An Archaeological Evaluation on Land at West Deeping (King Street) Lincolnshire

Abstract

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken in advance of a proposed quarry North of the village of West Deeping centred on TL 511175/310000. Sixteen trenches were excavated all of which contained archaeology. The evaluation aimed to answer a specific set of questions derived from the extensive desktop and geophysical survey. Prehistoric activity from the Late Neolithic through to the Iron Age was recorded. Possible Bronze Age activity was evidenced within a number of different trenches at various locations, however, it was not possible to securely date the co-axial 'droveway' to this period. The state of preservation below the headland banks seemed little better than elsewhere, and there was no evidence for the survival of upcast from any feature. The triple ditch system actually consisted of five separate ditches, with the middle ditch being significantly deeper than the others. The settlement was revealed to have probable Iron Age origins and to have been occupied throughout the Roman period flourishing in the 3rd to 4th centuries AD. Fragments of building stone from a number of ditches within the trenches suggest the possibility of there having been a Roman stone built structure.