Event/Activity EPM178 - An Archaeological Watching Brief on the M275, M27 and A27 Portsmouth Revetments, Portsmouth, Hampshire

An archaeological watching brief was carried out by Archaeology South-East on ground investigation works on the M275, M27 and A27 Portsmouth revetments in 2009. A total of ten test pits were excavated by mechanical digger and by hand in the intertidal zone at the 'toe' of the revetments. The pits were excavated at low tide after the channel surface was exposed. The mechanically excavated pits (a total of six) ranged in size between c.2m by 2.m to 3.m by c.3.5m, and the manually excavated pits (a total of four) measured c.1m by c.1m. A number of the pits could not be entered or recorded safely by the monitoring archaeologist. In most of these cases a stratigraphic sequence was established with reference to the log of deposits. No archaeological deposits, features or finds were recorded during the works. A piece of waterlogged roundwood recovered from one of the test pits was originally thought to have been sharpened to form a stake. However, no cut marks were found when it was later cleaned and examined at the processing centre, and breaks at both ends of the wood were thought to be natural. Although no archaeology was encountered during the watching brief, it was concluded that as the test pits only provided a tiny sample of the intertidal zone at the site, the results could not prove that significant archaeological deposits do not survive elsewhere within the vicinity. The preserved timber recovered from an alluvial deposit shows that there is the potential for the preservation of organic remains. Accession No: 2009/107