Countess Wear Waste Water Treatment Works (new electricity ...

Countess Wear Waste Water

Treatment Works (new electricity supply)

Exeter, Devon

Archaeological Watching Brief

for: Kier Utilities & Rail | Water

CA Project: EX0134 CA Report: EX0134_1

OASIS ID: cotswold2-403912

September 2020

Countess Wear Waste Water

Treatment Works (new electricity supply)

Exeter, Devon

Archaeological Watching Brief

CA Project: EX0134 CA Report: EX0134_1


Document Control Grid

Revision Date Author Checked by Status Reasons for revision

Approved by

A 24 September

2020

Derek Evans – Internal review

– Derek Evans

This report is confidential to the client. Cotswold Archaeology accepts no responsibility or liability to any third party to whom this report, or any part of it, is made known. Any such party relies upon this report entirely at their

own risk. No part of this report may be reproduced by any means without permission.

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e. [email protected]

1

Countess Wear Waste Water Treatment Works (new electricity supply), Exeter, Devon: Archaeological Watching Brief © Cotswold Archaeology

CONTENTS SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................ 3

1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 4

2. ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND ...................................................................... 5

3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ......................................................................................... 5

4. METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................... 6

5. RESULTS................................................................................................................. 6

6. DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................... 7

7. CA PROJECT TEAM ................................................................................................ 7

8. REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 7

APPENDIX A: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS ........................................................................... 8

APPENDIX B: OASIS REPORT FORM.................................................................................. 9

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Fig. 1 Site location plan (1:25,000)

Fig. 2 The site, showing monitored groundworks (1:20,000, 1:2000)

Fig. 3 Photographs

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SUMMARY

Project name: Countess Wear Waste Water Treatment Works

Location: Exeter, Devon

NGR: 292609 090496 to 294828 089062

Type: Watching brief

Date: 30 July and 17 August 2020

Planning reference: Teignbridge District Council ref: 17/01155/FUL


Location of Archive: N/A

Site Code: MABA20

In July and August 2020, Cotswold Archaeology carried out an archaeological watching brief

during the installation of an electrical supply wire from the Exeter Energy Recovery Facility at

Marsh Barton to South West Water’s Countess Wear Waste Water Treatment Works. The

watching brief requirement applied only to that part of the scheme which is within

Teignbridge District Council’s boundaries

The watching brief identified no archaeological remains within the area of observed

groundworks. This may be due to an absence of archaeological remains in the monitored

area, although it may also be the case that any remains which might be present were not

exposed by the limited groundworks.

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1. INTRODUCTION

In July and August 2020, Cotswold Archaeology (CA) carried out an archaeological 1.1.

watching brief during the installation of an electrical supply wire from the Exeter

Energy Recovery Facility at Marsh Barton (NGR: 292609 090496) to South West

Water’s Countess Wear Waste Water Treatment Works (NGR: 294828 089062; Fig.

1). This watching brief was undertaken for Kier Utilities & Rail | Water.

Teignbridge District Council has granted planning permission for the scheme 1.2.

(planning ref: 17/01155/FUL). Condition 3 of the planning permission required the

implementation of a programme of archaeological work in accordance with an

approved WSI.

The scope of the watching brief was defined by Stephen Reed (Senior Historic 1.3.

Environment Officer, Devon County Council Historic Environment Team). The

watching brief was carried out in accordance with a Written Scheme of Investigation

(WSI) prepared by CA (2020) and approved by Stephen Reed.

The watching brief was also in line with Specification for a programme of 1.4.

Archaeological Monitoring and Recording (also known as a Watching Brief) (Devon

County Council 2020), Standard and guidance for an archaeological watching brief

(CIfA 2014; updated June 2020), Management of Research Projects in the Historic

Environment (MoRPHE) PPN 3: Archaeological Excavation (Historic England 2015)

and Management of Research Projects in the Historic Environment: The MoRPHE

Project Managers' Guide (Historic England 2015).

The site The new electrical supply wire originates from the Exeter Energy Recovery Facility, 1.5.

which lies on the eastern side of Grace Road South, in the Marsh Barton area of

Exeter. The wire terminates at South West Water’s Countess Wear Waste Water

Treatment Works, which lies between the River Exe and the Exeter Ship Canal, on

the fringes of the Exeter suburb of Lower Wear. The full cable route is

approximately 3km in extent and largely runs through greenspace along the south-

western side of the Exeter Ship Canal.

The underlying bedrock geology in the north-western part of the cable route is 1.6.

mapped as Alphington Breccia Formation, which formed in the Permian Period.

This is overlain by alluvial clays, silts, sands and gravels (BGS 2020).

5


The underlying bedrock geology in the south-eastern part of the cable route (the 1.7.

area south-east of Bridge Road) is mapped as Heavitree Breccia Formation, which

formed in the Permian Period. This is overlain by Tidal Flat Deposits of clay, silt,

sand and gravel (BGS 2020).

2. ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND

The cable route lies within reclaimed land of the River Exe floodplain and has 2.1.

potential for palaeoenvironmental sediments, such as prehistoric peat beds.

An archaeological watching brief carried out at the site of the Chrysler Garage 2.2.

(Matford Park Road; c. 625m south-west of the cable route) recorded a

palaeochannel containing Neolithic wood fragments (Exeter Archaeology 2000).

Historic England (HE) records the cropmarks of at least six possible prehistoric 2.3.

round barrows in the land between the Exeter Energy Recovery Facility and the

Exeter Ship Canal (HE ref: 1047938), as well as the cropmarks of a possible Iron

Age/Roman square enclosure off Bad Homburg Way (c. 530m south-west of the

cable route; HE ref: 447942).

The Countess of Devon, Isabella de Fortibus, constructed a weir across the River 2.4.

Exe in the 1280s. This weir was in the broad location of the present Countess Wear

Bridge (c. 250m north-east of the cable route at its closest point).

The Exeter Ship Canal was constructed in 1564–1566. The canal originally deviated 2.5.

from the River Exe at a point south-east of the Countess Weir Bridge (i.e. to the

immediate north-west of the Countess Wear Waste Water Treatment Works). The

canal was extended in 1677, when its entrance was moved downstream to

Topsham.

In May 1944, the Exeter Canal Swing Bridge (Bridge Road) was used in rehearsals 2.6.

for the D-Day attacks on the Pegasus and Horsa Bridges. The proposed cable route

passes underneath the Swing Bridge.

3. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The general objectives of the watching brief were: 3.1.

• to monitor the development groundworks, and to identify, investigate and

record any significant buried archaeological deposits/features thus revealed;

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• at the conclusion of the project, to produce an integrated project archive and

a report setting out the watching brief results and the archaeological

conclusions that can be drawn from the recorded data.

4. METHODOLOGY

The watching brief requirement applied only to that part of the scheme which is 4.1.

within Teignbridge District Council’s boundaries (Fig. 2).

The watching brief comprised the observation by a competent archaeologist of 4.2.

intrusive groundworks associated with the development. The majority of the cable

was installed using a “no trench” horizontal directional drilling method. The

monitored groundworks comprised eight directional drill launch/reception pits/cable

jointing pits. These pits were 1.5m–2.6m in length, 0.55–1.9m in width and 1m–

1.6m in depth.

Records were maintained in accordance with CA Technical Manual 1: Fieldwork 4.3.

Recording Manual.

Deposits were assessed for their palaeoenvironmental potential in accordance with 4.4.

CA Technical Manual 2: The Taking and Processing of Environmental and Other

Samples from Archaeological Sites. No deposits were identified that required

sampling.

As no archaeological features were identified during the works and no artefacts 4.5.

were recovered, no project archive will be prepared. The results of the fieldwork will

be held by Devon County Council Historic Environment Team in the form of this

report and the creation of an OASIS entry (see below).

A summary of information from this project, as set out in Appendix B, will be entered 4.6.

onto the OASIS online database of archaeological projects in Britain (OASIS ID:

cotswold2-403912).

5. RESULTS

This section provides an overview of the watching brief results. Detailed summaries 5.1.

of the recorded contexts are given in Appendix A. Figure 3 presents example

photographs of the monitored works.

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The natural geological substrate comprised red-brown clay. It was revealed in Tr1–5.2.

Tr5 at a depth of 0.9m–1m below present ground level (bpgl). It was overlain by

0.5m of clayey silt subsoil, which was sealed in turn by 0.4m of modern topsoil.

In Tr6–Tr8, heavy water ingress meant that these pits could not be recorded to their 5.3.

full depths. Recording of Tr6 and Tr8 was not possible beyond 0.6m bpgl; recording

of Tr7 was not possible beyond 1.2m bpgl. The natural geological substrate was not

recorded in any of these trenches, although it may have been exposed below the

water line. Topsoil and subsoil deposits were present as per Tr1–Tr5.

No features or deposits of archaeological interest were observed and no artefactual 5.4.

material was recovered.

6. DISCUSSION

Despite the archaeological potential of the application area (see Archaeological 6.1.

background, above), the watching brief identified no archaeological remains within

the area of observed groundworks. This may be due to an absence of

archaeological remains in the monitored area, although it may also be the case that

any remains which might be present were not exposed by the limited groundworks.

7. CA PROJECT TEAM

Fieldwork was undertaken by Matt Coman and Matt Nichol. This report was written 7.1.

by Derek Evans. The report illustrations were prepared by Amy Wright. The project

was managed for CA by Derek Evans.

8. REFERENCES

British Geological Survey 2020 Geology of Britain

Viewer http://www.bgs.ac.uk/discoveringGeology/geologyOfBritain/viewer.h

tml Accessed 19 May 2020

Cotswold Archaeology 2020 The Countess Wear Waste Water, Treatment Works

(new electricity supply), Exeter, Devon: Written Scheme of Investigation for

an Archaeological Watching Brief

Exeter Archaeology 2000 Archaeological watching brief carried out at the site of the

Chrysler Garage, Marsh Barton

http://www.bgs.ac.uk/discoveringGeology/geologyOfBritain/viewer.html%20Accessed%2019%20May%202020

http://www.bgs.ac.uk/discoveringGeology/geologyOfBritain/viewer.html%20Accessed%2019%20May%202020

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APPENDIX A: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS

Trench Context No.

Type Interpretation Description Depth/ thickness

(m) 1 100 Deposit Topsoil Dark brown clayey silt 0.4 1 101 Deposit Subsoil Grey-brown silty clay 0.5 1 102 Deposit Natural Red-brown clay 2 200 Deposit Topsoil Dark brown clayey silt 0.4 2 201 Deposit Subsoil Grey-brown silty clay 0.5 2 202 Deposit Natural Red-brown clay 3 300 Deposit Topsoil Dark brown clayey silt 0.4 3 301 Deposit Subsoil Grey-brown silty clay 0.5 3 302 Deposit Natural Red-brown clay 4 400 Deposit Topsoil Dark brown clayey silt 0.45 4 401 Deposit Subsoil Grey-brown silty clay 0.55 4 402 Deposit Natural Red-brown clay 5 500 Deposit Topsoil Dark brown clayey silt 0.45 5 501 Deposit Subsoil Grey-brown silty clay 0.55 5 502 Deposit Natural Red-brown clay 6 600 Deposit Topsoil Dark brown clayey silt 0.3 6 601 Deposit Subsoil Grey-brown silty clay >0.3 7 700 Deposit Topsoil Dark brown clayey silt 0.3 7 701 Deposit Subsoil Grey-brown silty clay >0.9 8 800 Deposit Topsoil Dark brown clayey silt 0.25 8 801 Deposit Subsoil Grey-brown silty clay 0.2 8 802 Deposit Subsoil Brown-grey clayey silt >0.15

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APPENDIX B: OASIS REPORT FORM

PROJECT DETAILS Project name Countess Wear Waste Water Treatment Works (new electricity

supply), Exeter, Devon Short description In July and August 2020, Cotswold Archaeology carried out an

archaeological watching brief during the installation of an electrical supply wire from the Exeter Energy Recovery Facility at Marsh Barton to South West Water’s Countess Wear Waste Water Treatment Works. The watching brief requirement applied only to that part of the scheme which is within Teignbridge District Council’s boundaries The watching brief identified no archaeological remains within the area of observed groundworks. This may be due to an absence of archaeological remains in the monitored area, although it may also be the case that any remains which might be present were not exposed by the limited groundworks.

Project dates 30 July and 17 August 2020 Project type Archaeological watching brief Previous work None Future work Unknown PROJECT LOCATION Site location Marsh Barton, Exeter Study area (m2/ha) 650m Site co-ordinates 292609 090496 to 294828 089062 PROJECT CREATORS Name of organisation Cotswold Archaeology Project brief originator N/A Project design (WSI) originator Cotswold Archaeology Project Manager Derek Evans Project Supervisor Matt Coman and Matt Nichol MONUMENT TYPE None SIGNIFICANT FINDS None PROJECT ARCHIVES Intended final location of archive Content Physical N/A N/A Paper N/A N/A Digital N/A N/A BIBLIOGRAPHY Cotswold Archaeology 2020 Chedworth Countess Wear Waste Water Treatment Works (new electricity supply), Exeter, Devon: Archaeological Watching Brief CA typescript report EX0134_1

Teignbridge District CouncilTeignbridge District CouncilTeignbridge District Council

Teignbridge District C

ouncil


ouncil


ouncil

Exete r City CoucilExete r City CoucilExete r City Coucil

Exeter CityC

oucil

Exeter City Coucil

Exeter CityC

oucil

TORBAY

CITY OFPLYMOUTH

DEVON

SOMERSET CotswoldArchaeology

N

PROJECT TITLE

FIGURE TITLE

FIGURE NO.

0 1km

1

Countess Wear Waste Water Treatment Works, E xeter, Devon

Site location plan

PROJECT NO.DATESCALE@A4

DRAWN BYCHECKED BYAPPROVED BY

EX013418.09.201:25,000

AWDJBDE

© Crown copyright and database rights 2020Ordnance Survey 0100031673

Andover 01264 347630

Cirencester 01285 771022

Exeter 01392 573970

Milton Keynes 01908 564660

Suffolk 01449 900120

w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk

e [email protected]

090000090000

092000092000

293000293000

295000295000

088000088000

Route of cable(as proposed)

Council boundary

Exeter City Council

Teignbridge District Council



Brid

geR

oad

Brid

ge R

oad

Brid

geR

oad

River Exe

River Exe

River Exe

River Exe

River Exe

River Exe

089100

089400089400

294000294000

294300294300

294600294600

Teignbridge District CouncilTeignbridge District CouncilTeignbridge District Council

Exeter City CoucilExeter City CoucilExeter City Coucil

090000090000

089000089000

293000293000

294000294000

CotswoldArchaeology

N

PROJECT TITLE

FIGURE TITLE

FIGURE NO.

2

Countess Wear Waste Water Treatment Works, Exeter, Devon

The site, showing monitored groundworks



EX013418.09.201:20,000; 1:2,000

AWDJBDE

Andover 01264 347630


Exeter 01392 573970


Suffolk 01449 900120


e [email protected]

© Crown copyright and database rights 2020 Ordnance Survey 0100031673

1:20000 100m

0 500m1:20,000

T2T2

T3T3

T4T4

T5T5

T6T6

T7T7

T8T8

T1T1

Route of cable (as proposed)

Council boundary

Monitored groundworks

CotswoldArchaeology

PROJECT TITLE

FIGURE TITLE

FIGURE NO.

3

Countess Wear Waste Water Treatment Works, Exeter, Devon

Photographs



EX013418.09.20NA

AWDJBDE

Trench 1 (1m scale)

Trench 4, looking west (1m scale)

Andover 01264 347630


Exeter 01392 573970


Suffolk 01449 900120


e [email protected]

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