Report on the archaeological potential of two sites located on the route of the A6 bypass at Great Glen, Leicestershire

Abstract

Soil Survey work was undertaken at two sites designated by the University of Birmingham Field Archaeology Unit within Fields 20b and 16 along the route of the forthcoming A6 Great Glen Bypass. Two transects, each containing 5 cores, were sampled using a Dutch-pattern soil gouge auger. Sediments were described using the standard Tröels-Smith system of sediment classification and Munsell soil colour charts. Results suggest that Field 20b has remained relatively undisturbed since the abandonment of ridge and furrow farming. Sediments adjacent to Burton Brook yielded charcoal, which may be local but could also have been transported some distance by floodwaters. In marked contrast, Field 16 appears to have been heavily engineered as part of a flood defence scheme on the River Sense in Great Glen village. Sediment samples from this field were a rather uniform mixture of clays, silts and sands. These may have been dredged from the channel or the pond and re-deposited across the field. There was no evidence of palaeosols or other significant organic deposits in the cores from either transect.

More information

Identifiers

Catalogue record

Export record