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Trench 13
Trench 13 was located south of
the factory building. It was orientated roughly
north-west/south-east and measured approximately 10 x 2
metres. The top of the trench was at 15.71 metres OD. Below
the modern surface (1) was a loose, black brown red ash,
clinker and refuse layer (698) which comprised numerous layers
of dumping and contained large quantities of Victorian bottles
and pottery.
This layer varied throughout
the site, but was approximately 1.20 metres thick in this
trench. No archaeological features were revealed and the
trench was excavated to a depth of 13.71 metres OD.
Trench 14
Trench 14 was
located within the Portland Walk factory building towards the
south-western end . The modern surface in the trench (1) was
extremely thick and well-constructed. Its original dimensions
were changed from 10 x 2 to 5 x 4 metres so that the outline
of the trench matched fault lines of the concrete surface,
making it easier to break up.
The surface
was at 15.51 metres OD directly onto layer 698 (as described
in Trench 13). A large sondage within this trench was
excavated to establish the depth of this dumping deposit; the
trench was excavated to a depth of 12.01 metres OD before the
natural grey clay (700) was encountered along with the water
table.
Trench 16
The trench was
located to the south of the Portland Walk factory building
between and the dry dock west of the canal. The top of the trench was at 15.82 metres
OD. Below the modern surface (1) was 697, an earlier concrete
surface associated with an earlier phase of the factory site
(as there were plastic inclusions within its hardcore
foundation). Below this context 698 was excavated to a depth
of 13.60 metres OD onto redeposited waterlogged grey clay
(815). The clay was partially excavated by machine onto a
mixed brick and tile dump layer (816). This layer was
immediately backfilled as water started to rise into the
trench.
Tip lines were
visible sloping towards the river, presumably following the
original topography of the area prior to large-scale
dumping. No archaeological features were discovered in this
area.
Trench 18
This trench was moved from its
original location outside to inside the building because of
difficulties of site access. It measured 6 x 1.50 metres
rather than the originally proposed 10 x 2 metres due to the
thickness and strength of the factory floor. This trench
was positioned to evaluate the survival of Victorian saw mills
shown on the 1884 OS map.
The top of the
trench was at 15.90 metres OD. Directly below the modern
surface (1) an earlier concrete surface (704) was uncovered
and abutted wall 712 at its southern limit. The brick wall,
which survived to 8 courses high and 2 courses thick,
consisted of alternate courses of headers and stretchers.
The bricks
were not frogged and appeared to be hand-made. Beneath 704 was
705, a compact black coal and ash layer roughly 0.10 metres
thick. 706 occurred below 705 and was compact mid-red brown
clay with ash, brick, coal and tile inclusions and was roughly
0.25 metres thick. A loose mid-brown red mortar and charcoal
layer (707) had a post-medieval pit (717) cut through it.
This pit was only seen in section and was rubble-filled (718).
Beneath this pit was 715, a firm grey very gritty loam with
frequent mortar pieces, charcoal and ash roughly 0.10 metres
thick; this was cut by a Victorian sewage pipe (710) that ran
underneath wall 712. Below this were two slightly different
clays (708 and 716), seemingly redeposited as they both had
brick and tile inclusions. Below these was clean natural red
mudstone (709). This trench was excavated to a depth of 14.15
metres OD.
Conclusion
The evaluation
trenches placed around and within the Royal Worcester
Porcelain factory at Portland Walk proved that the made-ground
across the entire site is deep and getting deeper towards the
western end. The made-ground consisted of an ash and clinker
layer (698) containing large amounts of general refuse dating
from the Victorian period. It is possible that this layer,
which seems to spread across the whole western end of the
site, could contain dumps of porcelain from Royal Worcester,
as the ash and clinker present throughout these layers are
consistent with industrial waste, more likely than not from
kilns.
This
made-ground has masked, and possibly preserved, potential
archaeological deposits cut into the natural clays and
gravels.
The results of
this project will help towards the design of the foundations
of the buildings to be erected on this site. The made-ground
towards the western end of the site probably means that it is
unlikely that potential archaeological deposits below the ash
and clinker deposits will suffer any direct impact through the
insertion of traditional trench fill foundations.
click here to see trench location plan and sections
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