Riverway, Stafford, Staffordshire. Archaeological Watching Brief

Capita Property and Infrastructure commissioned Oxford Archaeology (OA) North to undertake an archaeological watching brief, during groundworks associated with the
construction of an office building, on land to the west of Riverway, Stafford, Staffordshire (NGR SJ 92921 23016). The watching brief was requested as a condition of the planning
permission agreed as a result of consultation between Capita Property and Infrastructure and Staffordshire County Council (SCC), and was based on previous archaeological investigations conducted in close proximity to the development site.
The watching brief showed that the area comprised a series of made ground deposits overlying natural river gravels, the later resulting from a series of flooding events associated
with the River Sow. These in turn overlie a natural boulder clay.
Two twentieth-century walls were recorded in the north-west section of the current watching brief area. These were surrounded by demolition rubble deriving from a former building that occupied the site. Unfortunately, due to the width, depth, and instability of many of the trenches, they were not accessible and, as a result, no environmental samples were recovered. No further features or deposits of archaeological interest were encountered during the Watching Brief