Land at New Road, Radcliffe, Bury Archaeological Evaluation Report

Oxford Archaeology (OA) North were commissioned by CgMs Heritage on behalf of Ascalon Properties Ltd to undertake an archaeological evaluation at the site of a proposed residential development on land off New Road, Radcliffe, Bury, Greater Manchester (NGR SD 79164 06876). The work was undertaken as a condition of Planning Permission (planning ref. 60723). The potential for the presence of unknown archaeological remains was highlighted in the Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI) produced by CgMs Heritage (Appendix D). Following correspondence with Greater Manchester Archaeological Advisory Service (GMAAS), a scheme of archaeological evaluation via geophysical survey (Magnitude 2019) and trial trenching was decided upon and the WSI was agreed. The geophysical survey undertaken by Magnitude Surveys identified little of archaeological interest, principally a historic field boundary and demolition rubble. Based upon the results of the magnetometer survey, the locations of five archaeological trial trenches were agreed in correspondence with GMAAS. OA North were subsequently commissioned to undertake the trial trench evaluation; the fieldwork was completed on 21st May 2019.
There was no significant archaeology identified in any of the evaluation trenches. A single linear feature, which corresponds well with an historic field boundary, identified during the geophysical survey and on historic mapping, was the only archaeological feature identified during the evaluation