S E R V I C E S S O U T H. Gravel Hill Primary School, Watling Street, London Borough of Bexley. Archaeological Watching Brief. by Felicity Howell

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1 T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICAL S E R V I C E S S O U T H Gravel Hill Primary School, Watling Street, London Borough of Bexley Archaeological Watching Brief by Felicity Howell Site Code: GVH13 (TQ )

2 Gravel Hill Primary School, Watling Street, London Borough of Bexley An Archaeological Watching Brief For Willmott Dixon by Felicity Howell Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd Site Code GVH 13 September 2013

3 Summary Site name: Gravel Hill Primary School, Watling Street, London Borough of Bexley Grid reference: TQ Planning reference: 13/00123/FULM Site activity: Watching Brief Date and duration of project: 19th 21st August 2013 Project manager: Steve Ford Site supervisor: Felicity Howell Site code: GVH 13 Summary of results: Observation of two extensive components of the development groundworks established that the archaeologically relevant levels had been deeply truncated and subsequently backfilled with 20th-century made ground to bring the ground level to its current position. This may have taken place during the construction of the existing school and its playing fields in the 1950s. No finds or features of archaeological interest were observed. Location and reference of archive: The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited with the Museum of London in due course. This report may be copied for bona fide research or planning purposes without the explicit permission of the copyright holder Report edited/checked by: Steve Ford Steve Preston i Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, De Beauvoir Road, Reading RG1 5NR Tel. (0118) ; Fax (0118) ; tvas@tvas.co.uk; website :

4 Gravel Hill Primary School, Watling Street, Bexley Heath, London Borough of Bexley An Archaeological Watching Brief by Felicity Howell Report 13/147 Introduction This report documents the results of an archaeological watching brief carried out at Gravel Hill Primary School, Watling Street, Bexley Heath, London Borough of Bexley (TQ ) (Fig. 1). The work was commissioned by Mr Rory Baptiste of Willmott Dixon Construction Limited, Riverbridge House, Anchor Boulevard, Crossways Business Park, Dartford, Kent, DA2 6SL. Planning permission (13/00123/FULM) has been gained from the London Borough of Bexley to construct a new classroom block. The permission is subject to a condition (8) relating to archaeology, which requires the implementation of a programme of archaeological work to take place during groundworks. This is in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF, 2012), and the Borough Council s policies on archaeology. The watching brief was carried out in accordance with a written scheme of investigation approved by English Heritage, who act as archaeological advisers to the Borough. The fieldwork was undertaken by Felicity Howell between 19th and 21st August 2013, and the site code is GVH13. The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited with the Museum of London in due course. Location, topography and geology The site lies on the south side of Watling Street and east of the A220, Bexley Heath (Fig. 1). The site functions as a primary school and the areas to be developed comprise playing fields, Tarmacadamed playgrounds and a school car park (Fig. 2). According to the British Geological Survey the underlying geology consists of disturbed Blackheath Beds (BGS 1997). This was confirmed during the watching brief when sand and gravel deposits were observed in the sump trench. The site is fairly level and the ground then slopes sharply down beyond the southern boundary; it lies at a height of approximately 50m above Ordnance Datum. 1

5 Archaeological background The archaeological potential of the site stems from its location close to the line of Watling Street, the major Roman road which linked Canterbury and the channel ports with London (Margary 1973; MoLAS 2000). As with any Roman road, it is a focus for roadside settlement and burial: one occupation site is recorded at Welling to the west (Philp and Garrod 1992). The road itself has also been observed in other fieldwork nearby where cambered gravel surfaces and flanking ditches reflect repeated maintenance of the road (Thomas 2003; 2006). Objectives and methodology The aims of the watching brief were to excavate and record any archaeological deposits affected by the groundworks. This was to include the monitoring of footing trenches, sump trench and service runs. Sufficient time was to be allowed within the developer s and groundworkers schedules to record any archaeological features revealed. Results The sump trench Excavation of the sump trench was monitored (Fig. 3 and Pl. 1). The trench was 17m in length, 12m in width and was taken to a depth of up to 2.80m by a 360 type mechanical excavator. The stratigraphy revealed consisted of 0.50m of turf and topsoil, above 1.40m of made ground which lay directly above clean natural sand and gravel (Fig. 4 and Pl. 2). Twentieth-century pottery was observed in the made ground but was not retained. It was evident that the site had been previously landscaped, the natural geology had been truncated and made ground deposits placed directly above, most likely in the 1950s when the school was constructed. The drainage trenches The drainage run to the sump was also investigated. The trench was 0.50m wide and was taken to depth of 1m. (Fig. 3). At this depth the service trench was wholly within modern made ground similar to that observed in the sump. It did not impact on the natural geology and no artefacts of archaeological interest were observed. The new classroom The new classroom was to be constructed relatively close to the sump and drainage trench using piles and groundbeams. In this location, it was clear that the bulk of the foundations (piling mat and groundbeams) would 2

6 be of relatively shallow depth and be located only within the modern made ground which was present extensively across the site. Therefore these foundations were not monitored. Conclusion The watching brief at this site examined two deeply invasive components of the new development. These observations revealed the presence of deep layers of made ground, and truncation of the underlying natural gravel geology. It seems likely that this took place during the mid 20th century, during construction of the school and its playing fields. As such the archaeologically relevant levels have been removed and no archaeological depots or artefacts of interest were noted. Additional components of the development which were to be founded within this made ground only were therefore not monitored. References BGS, 1997, British Geological Survey, 1:50,000, Sheet 271, Bedrock and Superficial Deposits Edition, Keyworth. Margary, I D, 1973, Roman Roads in Britain (3rd edn), London MoLAS, 2000, The archaeology of Greater London; an assessment of archaeological evidence for human presence in the area now covered by Greater London, Museum of London Archaeology Service Monogr, London MoLAS 2003, A Research Framework for London's Archaeology, Museum of London, London NPPF, 2012, National Planning Policy Framework, Department of Communities and Local Government, London (TSO) Philp, B and Garrod, D, 1992, The Roman Settlement at Welling, Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit, Dover Thomas, A, 2004, Archaeological evaluation and excavation across the new swimming pool, site at the Crook Log Sports Centre Site, Crook Log, Bexley Heath, London Borough of Bexley, PRM Archaeology, London. Thomas, A, 2006, Archaeological Fieldwork across the site of 197 Welling High Street, London Borough of Bexley, PRM Archaeology, London 3

7 OASIS FORM - Print view 1 of 3 20/09/13 10:05 OASIS DATA COLLECTION FORM: England List of Projects Manage Projects Search Projects New project Change your details HER coverage Change country Log out Printable version OASIS ID: thamesva Project details Project name Short description of the project Gravel Hill Primary School, Watling Street, Bexley Heath The site has been deeply and extensively truncated in the mid 20th-century. No archaeological finds of features were observed. Project dates Start: End: Previous/future work Any associated project reference codes Any associated project reference codes Any associated project reference codes Any associated project reference codes Type of project Site status Current Land use Monument type Significant Finds Investigation type Prompt No / No GVH13 - Museum accession ID GVH13 - Sitecode 13/147 - Contracting Unit No. 13/00313/FULM - Planning Application No. Recording project None Community Service 1 - Community Buildings NONE None NONE None ''Watching Brief'' National Planning Policy Framework - NPPF Project location Country Site location Study area Site coordinates England GREATER LONDON BEXLEY BEXLEYHEATH Gravel Hill Primary School, Watling Street 0.20 Hectares TQ N E Point Height OD / Depth Min: 47.00m Max: 47.00m

8 OASIS FORM - Print view 2 of 3 20/09/13 10:05 Project creators Name of Organisation Project brief originator Project design originator Project director/manager Project supervisor Type of sponsor/funding body Name of sponsor/funding body Thames Valley Archaeological Services English Heritage/Department of Environment Steve Ford Steve Ford Felicity Howell Developer Willmott Dixon Consruction Ltd Project archives Physical Archive Exists? Digital Archive recipient Digital Archive ID Digital Contents Digital Media available Digital Archive notes Paper Archive recipient Paper Archive ID Paper Contents Paper Media available Paper Archive notes No Museum of London GVH13 ''other'' ''Images raster / digital photography'' temporarily with TVAS in Reading pending deposition Museum of London GVH13 ''Stratigraphic'',''Survey'' ''Correspondence'',''Drawing'',''Manuscript'',''Microfilm'',''Miscellaneous Material'',''Photograph'',''Plan'',''Report'',''Section'',''Survey '' temporarily with TVAS in Reading pending deposition Project bibliography 1 Publication type Title Author(s)/Editor(s) Other bibliographic details Grey literature (unpublished document/manuscript) Gravel Hill Primary School, Watling Street, London Borough of Bexley; an archaeological watching brief Howell, F 13/147 Date 2013 Issuer or publisher Place of issue or publication Description URL Thames Valley Archaeological Services Reading A4 comb-bound client report

9 OASIS FORM - Print view 3 of 3 20/09/13 10:05 Entered by Steve Preston (tvas@tvas.co.uk) Entered on 20 September 2013 OASIS: Please English Heritage for OASIS help and advice ADS Created by Jo Gilham and Jen Mitcham, Last modified Wednesday 9 May 2012 Cite only: /export/home/web/oasis/form/print.cfm for this page

10 SITE SITE TQ GVH 13 Gravel Hill Primary School, Watling Street, London Borough of Bexley, 2013 Archaeological Watching Brief Figure 1. Location of site within Bexley and London. Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Explorer 162 at 1:12500 Ordnance Survey Licence

11 SITE TQ GVH 13 Gravel Hill Primary School, Watling Street, London Borough of Bexley, 2013 Archaeological Watching Brief Figure 2. Detailed location of site. Reproduced from Ordnance Survey digital mapping at 1:1250

12 74950 Trench not monitored Trench not monitored Service trench Trench not monitored Sump Gravel Hill Primary School, Watling Street, London Borough of Bexley, 2013 Archaeological Watching Brief Figure 3. Location of areas monitored. TQ49750 Trench 0 50m

13 Stratigraphy in sump excavation 49m aod E W Turf and topsoil Made ground Sand and gravel (natural geology) Base of trench Gravel Hill Primary School, Watling Street, London Borough of Bexley, 2013 Archaeological Watching Brief Figure 4. Representative section. GVH m

14 Plate 1. General view of sump excavation looking south east. Plate 2. Section of sump looking south. Scale 1m GVH 13/147 Gravel Hill Primary School, Watling Street, London Borough of Bexley Archaeological Watching Brief Plates 1-2

15 TIME CHART Calendar Years Modern AD 1901 Victorian AD 1837 Post Medieval AD 1500 Medieval AD 1066 Saxon AD 410 Roman AD 43 BC/AD Iron Age 750 BC Bronze Age: Late Bronze Age: Middle Bronze Age: Early 1300 BC 1700 BC 2100 BC Neolithic: Late Neolithic: Early 3300 BC 4300 BC Mesolithic: Late Mesolithic: Early 6000 BC BC Palaeolithic: Upper Palaeolithic: Middle Palaeolithic: Lower BC BC 2,000,000 BC

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