Land at Riley Road, Marlow, Buckinghamshire: Archaelogical Field Evaluation

An archaeological desk-based assessment (CgMs 2008) identified the potential for sub-surface archaeological remains within the site and recommended intrusive (trial trenching) evaluation. The evaluation revealed the remains of three pits datable to the post-medieval and modern periods. They were sealed by 0.45-0.62m of modern overburden and make-up layers. The largest post-medieval pit contained peg tile, ceramic building material, animal bone and an abraded residual sherd of possible Roman pottery. The function of these pits is unclear. However, they may be related to the use of this land as the gardens or back-plots of houses and shops on West Street as shown on the 1843 Great Marlow Tithe map and the 1st edition OS map of 1876 (CgMs 2008). They are considered to be of local significance. The presence of a possible Roman sherd within the largest pit does not necessarily indicate contemporary activity within or immediately adjacent to the area. The sherd was extremely abraded and appeared within a securely dated post-medieval deposit containing post-medieval tile. The modern pit may be associated with the construction of 19th- and 20th-century ancillary buildings first shown on the OS map of 1876. Alternatively it may represent re-deposited 19th-20th-century material moved during the construction of the Waitrose store in the 1970s. These remains have no archaeological significance.