Knabs Ridge Wind Farm, Harrogate, North Yorkshire. Archaeological Watching Brief

OA North was commissioned by Npower Renewables to undertake a watching brief during
the topsoil strip for the construction of eight wind turbine bases and access roads at Knabs
Ridge (centred SE 232 558), near Harrogate, North Yorkshire. The work followed on from
an archaeological evaluation undertaken by Archaeological Services of Durham (ASUD
2005b), which identified a series of vertical-sided post holes set in an arc. OA North
submitted a project design for the archaeological programme of work in accordance with a
project brief by Entec UK Ltd (Environmental Consultants).
The watching brief took place in March, July and August 2007. The area of greatest
perceived potential around Turbine 8 (Area 3), in the event revealed no significant
archaeological remains, and overall, the watching brief recorded only limited evidence for
archaeological activity within the study area. Four discrete pit cuts (13, 15, 19, and 21) and
a possible stakehole (17) were observed within Areas 6 and 8, but no archaeological finds
were recovered from the associated fill deposits. As such, no direct link in function or age
could be established between these outlying pits or to the features observed during the
earlier phase of archaeological evaluation