Aldi Stores Car Park Extension, Dunstable, Bedfordshire

A watching brief was undertaken in August 2018 to monitor the groundworks
of a car park extension at the rear of an Aldi store in Dunstable, Bedfordshire.
The watching brief followed a previous evaluation of the site and further
excavations to the south that revealed numerous Roman, medieval and postmedieval
features. The aim of the work was to confirm the existence of any
further remains extending north into this area.
In addition to the laying of the new car park surface, the groundworks included
the insertion of an attenuation tank, man holes, drainage runs, tree planting
and other landscaping. Digging for the foundations for the car park surface
and the associated landscaping did not reach the depth of archaeological
features. However, the cuts of the attenuation tank and the drainage runs
were deeper and required archaeological mitigation.
The excavation exposed the remains of two ditches and two pits. The pits
dated to the medieval period and were sealed by an overlying subsoil. One of
the ditches cut this subsoil layer, and was later recut by the second ditch.
Examination of early–mid-20th century OS maps show that the ditches align
with a small enclosure and a bowling green, and both may relate to these
modern features