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T H A M E S V A L L E Y S E R V I C E S ARCHAEOLOGICAL Land at Folly Hill, Farnham, Surrey Archaeological Recording Action by Andy Taylor Site Code: FUF19/44 (SU 8320 4830)
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Page 1: T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICALother levelled examples on or adjacent to the site, which formed part of the GHQ stop line in the Defence of Britain, 1940 (Wills 1985). The four

T H A M E S V A L L E Y

S E R V I C E S

ARCHAEOLOGICAL

Land at Folly Hill, Farnham, Surrey

Archaeological Recording Action

by Andy Taylor

Site Code: FUF19/44

(SU 8320 4830)

Page 2: T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICALother levelled examples on or adjacent to the site, which formed part of the GHQ stop line in the Defence of Britain, 1940 (Wills 1985). The four

Land at Folly Hill,

Farnham, Surrey

An Archaeological Recording Action

for CALA Homes (South Home Counties) Limited

by Andy Taylor

Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd

Site Code FUF 19/44

Page 3: T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICALother levelled examples on or adjacent to the site, which formed part of the GHQ stop line in the Defence of Britain, 1940 (Wills 1985). The four

i Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd, 47–49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading RG1 5NR

Tel. (0118) 926 0552; email [email protected]; website : www.tvas.co.uk

Summary

Site name: Land at Folly Hill, Farnham, Surrey Grid reference: SU 8320 4830 Site activity: Recording Action Project Coordinator: Tim Dawson Site supervisor: Andy Taylor Site code: FUF 19/44 Area of site: c.400 sq m Summary of results: The excavation did not encounter any further archaeological deposits beyond the single cremation deposit identified in the evaluation. This report may be copied for bona fide research or planning purposes without the explicit permission of the copyright holder Report edited/checked by: Steve Ford� 27.09.19 Steve Preston�27.09.19

Page 4: T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICALother levelled examples on or adjacent to the site, which formed part of the GHQ stop line in the Defence of Britain, 1940 (Wills 1985). The four

Land at Folly Hill, Farnham, Surrey An Archaeological Recording Action

by Andy Taylor

Report 19/44c

Introduction

A small archaeological recording action was carried out by Thames Valley Archaeological Services on land at

Folly Hill, Farnham, Surrey (SU 8320 4830) (Fig. 1). The work was commissioned by Mr Stuart Forrester, of

CALA Homes (South Home Counties) Limited, Tilford House, Farnham Business Park, Weydon Lane,

Farnham, Surrey, GU9 8QT.

Planning permission (WA/2016/1224) has been gained on appeal (APP/R3650/W/17/3171409) from

Waverley Borough Council for a proposed residential development. The appeal consent is subject to a condition

(24) relating to archaeology, requiring a programme of archaeological investigation prior to the development.

This is in accordance with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s National Planning

Policy Framework (NPPF 2018) and the Borough Council’s policies on archaeology.

A trial trench evaluation on the site revealed a single undated cremation burial, and therefore a follow-up

excavation was required to satisfy the archaeological condition on the planning consent. The work was carried

out according to a written scheme of investigation approved by Mr Nick Truckle, Archaeological Officer with

Surrey County Council, advisers to the Borough on matters relating to archaeology.

The stripping of the site, using a JCB-type machine fitted with a toothless grading bucket, took place

between 19th and 23rd September 2019. The archive is currently held by Thames Valley Archaeological

Services, 47-49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading, RG1 5NR and will be deposited at Farnham Museum in due

course.

Topography and geology

The site is located on the south-west edge of Hog Hatch, north-west of Farnham and west of Farnham Park (Fig.

1) The excavation area comprised a 400sq m square area in the south western corner of the site (Fig. 2). The site

as a whole covers a c.5.8 ha parcel of land. It consisted of grass land with Folly Hill on its eastern side, Upper

Old Park Lane to the north and fields to the west and south. The underlying geology is mapped as 2nd Terrace

River Gravels and Reading Beds (BGS 1976), with clay, flint and gravels observed across the trenches. The site

undulates with a general slope down from north to south and lies at a height of c.145m in the north-east corner

dropping to c.135 in the south-west corner where the excavation was located.

Page 5: T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICALother levelled examples on or adjacent to the site, which formed part of the GHQ stop line in the Defence of Britain, 1940 (Wills 1985). The four

Archaeological background

The archaeological potential of the site had been highlighted in a briefing note prepared by Mr Nick Truckle of

Surrey County Council drawing on the results of desk-based assessment (HA 2016) and supplemented by

geophysical survey (Stratascan 2016). In summary, there were no known archaeological deposits on the site

itself but there are a range of sites and finds within the wider area of Mesolithic and Roman date. The site lies on

or close to the edges of a medieval and post-medieval deer park (Farnham Park). The geophysical survey

revealed a number of linear anomalies which were possibly of archaeological origin although this geological

outcrop is not usually responsive to geophysical survey. In addition there are four extant pill boxes with two

other levelled examples on or adjacent to the site, which formed part of the GHQ stop line in the Defence of

Britain, 1940 (Wills 1985). The four pillboxes were subject to building recording (Dawson and Kruger 2019).

Evaluation of the site itself (Taylor 2019) located very few deposits of certain or possible archaeological

interest. Of these an area in the south-west contained a single undated cremation burial.

Aims and Objectives

The general objectives of the project were to:

excavate and record all archaeological deposits and features within the area threatened by the proposed development; produce relative and absolute dating for deposits and features recorded on the site; establish the character of these deposits in attempt to define functional areas on the site such as industrial, domestic etc.; and to produce information on the economy and local environment and compare and contrast this with the results of other excavations in the region.

Specific objectives for the excavation were to attempt to address the following questions:

What is the date, nature and extent of any burial deposits? Are there any pyre deposits? Are there any deposits associated with the burial rites?

The area to be excavated was c.400 sq m as shown in Figure 2, centred on evaluation trench 26, which had

identified a cremation burial, undated but possibly of Bronze Age or Roman date.

The Excavation

The excavation area was stripped mechanically under constant archaeological supervision, to a depth of c.0.45m

and showed stratigraphy comprising 0.25m of topsoil overlying 0.20m of subsoil overlying clay natural geology.

It did not reveal any further deposits beyond the cremation identified during the evaluation.

Page 6: T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICALother levelled examples on or adjacent to the site, which formed part of the GHQ stop line in the Defence of Britain, 1940 (Wills 1985). The four

Finds

Cremated Bone by Ceri Falys (Repeated from Taylor 2019)

A small quantity of burnt bone was recovered during the evaluation, from shallow pit 1 (52). The deposit of

bone was whole-earth recovered, as the feature was excavated in a series of three, 0.02m thick spits. The bone

and surrounding soil were floated and wet-sieved to a 2mm mesh size during post-excavation processing. The

bone was collected from surrounding residue for osteological analysis.

A total of 33 fragments of burnt bone were present for analysis, weighing just 1.5g (Appendix 2). An

overall poor state of preservation of the remains was noted. The pieces of bone were all rounded, weathered and

chalky in texture, making all fragments non-descript in appearance. The bone was uniformly white in colour,

indicating the organic components within the bone had been fully oxidized by the “cremation” process, which is

accomplished by heating the bone above 600oC (Holden et al. 1995a, b).

Maximum post-excavation fragment sizes ranged from 8.9mm (spits 1 and 3) to 13.0mm (spit 2), however,

fragments measuring larger than 7mm were uncommon in all spits. It was not possible to identity any of the

fragments to element or species of origin, and no further information could be retrieved form this small deposit

of burnt bone.

Conclusion

Despite the potential for further deposits related to the cremation burial, identified during the evaluation, no

further deposits or finds of any archaeological interest were encountered during the archaeological works on

site. Seemingly isolated undated cremation burials, or cremation related deposits, are a recurrent if poorly

understood event in the archaeological literature (e.g., Milbank 2010), as are isolated but dated examples which

had been placed in pots (e.g., Taylor 2003). It is assumed that some at least were burials placed at a long

vanished prominent location in the contemporary landscape such as by a favourite tree, or placed under a small

turf-built ditchless barrow, now long ploughed away (Summers 1923; Ashbee 1960).

Acknowledgements

The excavation was funded by CALA Homes (South Home Counties) Limited and it was carried out by the

author. Illustrations are by Andrew Mundin.

Page 7: T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICALother levelled examples on or adjacent to the site, which formed part of the GHQ stop line in the Defence of Britain, 1940 (Wills 1985). The four

References Ashbee, P, 1960, The Bronze Age Round Barrow in Britain, London BGS, 1976, British Geological Survey, 1:50,000 Sheet 285, Drift Edition, Keyworth Dawson, T and Kruger, A, 2019, ‘Four Pillboxes at Folly Hill, Farnham, Surrey, Building Recording, Thames

Valley Archaeological Services’, unpubl rep 19/44b, Reading HA, 2016, ‘Folly Hill, Farnham Surrey archaeological desk-based assessment’, Headland Archaeology,

Edinburgh Holden, J L, Phakley, P P and Clement, J G, 1995, ‘Scanning electron microscope observations of incinerated

human femoral bone: a case study’, Forensic Science International, 74, 17–28 Holden, J L, Phakley, P P and Clement, J G, 1995, ‘Scanning electron microscope observations of heat-treated

human bone’, Forensic Science International, 74, 29–45 Milbank, D, 2010, ‘Shinfield Glebe, Shinfield, Reading, Berkshire, An archaeological recording action

(cremation burial area)’, Thames Valley Archaeological Services unpubl rep 09/22c, Reading NPPF, 2012, National Planning Policy Framework, Dept Communities and Local Government, London Sumner, H, 1923, ‘Excavation of barrows on Ibsley Common’, Trans Bournmouth Fld Club and Archaeol Soc

14, 69–78 Taylor, A 2004, ‘Whitehall Lane, Egham, Surrey, an archaeological evaluation’, Thames Valley Archaeological

Services, unpubl rep 03/93, Reading Taylor, A, 2019, ‘Land at Folly Hill, Farnham, an archaeological evaluation’, Thames Valley Archaeological

Services, unpubl rep 19/44, Reading

Page 8: T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICALother levelled examples on or adjacent to the site, which formed part of the GHQ stop line in the Defence of Britain, 1940 (Wills 1985). The four

APPENDIX 1: Catalogue of Excavated Features Trench Cut Fill (s) Type Date Dating evidence

26 1 52 Cremation related deposit Bronze Age? pottery

Page 9: T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICALother levelled examples on or adjacent to the site, which formed part of the GHQ stop line in the Defence of Britain, 1940 (Wills 1985). The four

APPENDIX 2: Catalogue of Cremated Bone Trench Cut Deposit Spit No. frags Wt (g) Max frag size (mm) Colour Comments

26 1 52 1 15 0.5 8.9 white not possible to identify 26 1 52 2 13 0.5 13.0 white not possible to identify 26 1 52 3 5 0.5 8.9 white not possible to identify

Page 10: T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICALother levelled examples on or adjacent to the site, which formed part of the GHQ stop line in the Defence of Britain, 1940 (Wills 1985). The four

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Page 12: T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICALother levelled examples on or adjacent to the site, which formed part of the GHQ stop line in the Defence of Britain, 1940 (Wills 1985). The four

SU83000 84000

Land at Folly Hill,Farnham, Surrey, 2019

Archaeological Recording ActionFigure 1. Location of site in relation to Farnham and Surrey.

FUF 19/44c

47000

48000

49000

Reproduced under licence from Ordnance Survey Explorer Digital mapping at 1:12500Crown Copyright reserved

SITE

Staines

Guildford

Egham

Woking Weybridge

ReigateAldershot

Redhill

GodalmingFarnham

SITE

Page 13: T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICALother levelled examples on or adjacent to the site, which formed part of the GHQ stop line in the Defence of Britain, 1940 (Wills 1985). The four

N

FUF 19/44c

Figure 2. Location of area.

Land at Folly Hill, Farnham,Surrey, 2019

Archaeological Recording Action

0 100m

SU 83100 83200 83300 83400 83500

48000

48100

SANG Area

31

24

57 69 8

10

17

18

26

19

25

20

151611

1412

13

27 28

2421 22

2930

31

23

48200

48300

48400

48500

PB1

PB2

PB3

PB4

cremation 1

Old

ParkLane

Upper Old Park Lane

Folly Hill

Exc

Page 14: T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICALother levelled examples on or adjacent to the site, which formed part of the GHQ stop line in the Defence of Britain, 1940 (Wills 1985). The four

Plate 1. Site shot, looking W.

Plate 2. Site shot, looking S, Scales: 2m and 1m.

Land at Folly Hill, Farnham, Surrey, 2019Archaeological Recording Action

Plates 1 and 2.

FUF 19/44

Page 15: T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICALother levelled examples on or adjacent to the site, which formed part of the GHQ stop line in the Defence of Britain, 1940 (Wills 1985). The four

TIME CHART

Calendar Years

Modern AD 1901

Victorian AD 1837

Post Medieval AD 1500

Medieval AD 1066

Saxon AD 410

Roman AD 43 AD 0 BCIron Age 750 BC

Bronze Age: Late 1300 BC

Bronze Age: Middle 1700 BC

Bronze Age: Early 2100 BC

Neolithic: Late 3300 BC

Neolithic: Early 4300 BC

Mesolithic: Late 6000 BC

Mesolithic: Early 10000 BC

Palaeolithic: Upper 30000 BC

Palaeolithic: Middle 70000 BC

Palaeolithic: Lower 2,000,000 BC

Page 16: T H A M E S V A L L E Y ARCHAEOLOGICALother levelled examples on or adjacent to the site, which formed part of the GHQ stop line in the Defence of Britain, 1940 (Wills 1985). The four

Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd,47-49 De Beauvoir Road,

Reading RG1 5NR

Tel: 0118 9260552Email: [email protected]: www.tvas.co.uk

Offices in:Brighton, Taunton, Stoke-on-Trent and Ennis (Ireland)


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