Excavations on NW defences of Mancetter fort

1 Trial excavations in 1996-7 in advance of redevelopment on the north side of the 1st century fort area were carried out by the Atherstone Archaeological and Historical Society. The trenches located several components of the NW corner defences, showing an inner rampart and double ditch with a berm to an outer ditch. The alignments of the excavated segments suggested possible discontinuities in the outer ditch, a feature which has also been observed in the southern defences.
2 Further archaeological work was carried out on the site between July and December 1997 by Souterrain Archaeological Services. This consisted of three elements: a watching brief during demolition of existing houses; a pre-determination archaeological evaluation; and a watching brief during redevelopment of the site. The work added to the earlier AAHS results evidence of a fourth ditch, necessitating a reinterpretation of the supposed discontinuities in the outer ditch, and added detailed environmental study of the ditch deposits. Archaeological deposits in the development area were shown to have been already disturbed in much of the area.