Desk-based assessment of land next to Station Road, Honeybourne, Worcestershire

In December 2011, the Field Section undertook an archaeological evaluation of land between Station Road and Dudley Road, Honeybourne, Worcestershire (NGR SP 11680 44650). It was undertaken on behalf of Lioncourt Homes to inform a planning application for a mixed residential and business development. The archaeological implications of development had been considered in a desk-based assessment. The assessment identified heritage assets in the form of ridge and furrow earthworks, two hedgerows, and a former pond. It also identified some potential for remains of prehistoric and/or Roman activity. The evaluation aimed to investigate this potential by means of sample trenching and post-fieldwork analysis. Twenty-five trenches were excavated across the application site. The trenches were located in a modified grid array which provided comprehensive coverage while avoiding constraints in the form of a high pressure gas main and overhead electricity cables. The trenches also followed the lines of ridge and furrow earthworks to minimise damage and facilitate reinstatement. No significant deposits or features were found in any of the trenches. Apart from a few land drains, the trenches showed only uniform profiles of loams over clays. Thirty artefacts were recovered from these soils, including sherds of Roman, medieval, and post-medieval pottery. These artefacts represent the long-established practice of mixing domestic refuse with manure. They show that the site was cultivated in the Roman period and complement the ridge and furrow earthworks as evidence for later cultivation.