Event/Activity EPM109 - Summary Report on an Archaeological Watching Brief at 133 Church Road, Landport, Portsmouth, Hampshire

A watching brief was undertaken by Southern Archaeological Services at 133 Church Road, ahead of development work in April, May and June 2008. Observations were carried out during three phases of work on the site. The groundworks were excavated by a large tracked slew and minidigger, and the spoil was visually scanned for unstratified finds. The first phase was the level reduction in the southeast corner of the site, curving into the northwest corner, for a new access road. The topsoil was stripped to a depth of 0.20m in the southeast corner, which exposed the subsoil. The topsoil contained 19th century pottery and clay pipe. Modern inclusions, including brick fragments, tile, plastics and charcoal, were present within both the topsoil and subsoil. The second phase of observations took place during the removal of concrete and brick wall foundations belonging to a residential property on the site. The foundations to the building had been cut into the natural brickearth, and no clear stratigraphic sections were visible. The third phase of observations were carried out during the excavation of the foundation trenches for the new development. The trenches were initially excavated to a depth of 1.2m. The stratigraphy revealed across the site consisted of topsoil, subsoil and natural brickearth. The foundation trench running parallel to the western boundary wall was extended to a depth of 2m, and the adjoining trenches were lowered to produce a flat base for the footings. No archaeological features were revealed during the work, although a small quantity of 19th century finds were recovered from the topsoil. The lack of any archaeological evidence pre-dating the post-medieval period is probably due to the area having been largely rural until the mid-19th century. 2008/107