Phase 1 Test Pit Report, Bishop's Waltham Project, Bishop's Waltham Palace, Hampshire

In May 2002, Oxford Archaeology (OA) carried out an archaeological watching brief at the site of Little Pond Bishops Waltham Palace, Hampshire (NGR SU 5517 1729). The work was commissioned by Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick & Co Ltd on behalf of the Environment Agency. In the first instance, the work comprised the archaeological monitoring of geo-technical test pits on the line of a proposed overflow pipeline on the site of this in-filled medieval fish pond. A second monitoring phase will be undertaken during the excavation of the pipeline trench.
The watching brief revealed undated pond silt deposits overlying natural gravels at the base of each test pit. Part of the Mill Race channel to the 19th century mill was observed together with late structural remains, probably those of demolished buildings on the site. The silts and structures were sealed beneath thick layers of dumped material deposited when the site was levelled in the 1970s