Manor House Farm, South Marina Basin, Rufford, Lancashire- Environmental Assessment

Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) was commissioned by Stephen Baldwin (Archaeological Consultant), on behalf of his clients Mr and Mrs V Fitzel, to assess four environmental bulk samples from Manor House Farm, Rufford, Lancashire for charred plant remains and select material for radiocarbon dating. The details of the four samples are shown in Table 1. Material from an earlier phase of the development (Manor House Farm, Diamond Jubilee Road, Rufford, Lancashire SD 4632 1564) provided radiocarbon dates of 3640-3380 cal BC (SUERC-7535; 4755 ± 35 BP) and 2200-1960 cal BC (SUERC-7539; 3690 ± 35 BP). Due to the scarcity of Bronze Age sites in the area (Cowell and Innes 1994), any charred plant remains potentially from deposits of this date at Manor House Farm, South Marina Basin, Rufford would add significantly to our understanding of Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age activity in the area.