Delta Works, Millmarsh Lane, Enfield, London ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVALUATION REPORT NGR TQ 3660 9720 MLM 00 © OXFORD ARCHAEOLOGICAL UNIT April 2001

Phase 1 The Oxford Archaeological Unit (OAU) carried out a field evaluation at the site of the former Delta Works, Millmarsh Lane ,in the Borough of Enfield, Greater London on behalf of Roscoe Capita Ltd consulting Engineers for Gazeley Properties Ltd. The evaluation consisted of eight
machine excavated archaeological trenches distributed across the development area.
All of the trenches revealed the surface of the natural gravel subsoil which sloped gently down from the north-east and south-west to a slight hollow which ran through the centre of the site. In Trench 4, adjacent to the
current River Lea Navigation, a paleochannel was revealed on a north-south alignment. This channel had silted up with substantial alluvial deposits. This sequence was sampled and could represent actions from the Early Mesolithic to the Roman/Saxon periods. The environmental assessment of the samples indicate an early prehistoric date for the
sequence, similar to other environmental sequences from the area, however in the absence of any absolute dating these results are inconclusive.
It is possible that this alluvial sequence was the same as those recorded in the trenches on the eastern half of the site. Trench 8 in the south-west corner of the site, revealed three probable ditches, a post-hole and a
single pit. Only the pit yielded any finds and was dated to the Middle Bronze Age, however this could not be related to the alluvial sequence. In Trench 7 on the central southern boundary of the site alluvial deposits sealed a buried soil, a tree-hole and a feature that contained ‘bloom’
derived from the production of iron. In Trench 5 a substantial undated, north-south orientated ditch, parallel to the River Lea Navigation, and filled by alluvial silts, was observed. It was re-cut once and probably
backfilled in the post-medieval period. A number of ceramic land-drains sealed below an old plough-soil attested to the 20th century agricultural phase of the site.
Concrete structures relating to the sites modern and most recent industrial use truncated the earlier sequences in many places. The demolition and remediation work had also created a certain amount of truncation of the
upper part of the sequences observed and in many places had completely removed all material overlying the natural geology.
In conclusion, while the environmental data are of some interest, it is considered that the assessment analysis carried out for this report is sufficient – the lack of good archaeological data on the site and in the surrounding area, means that detailed palaeoenvironmental analysis is
not justified. Further site work is not recommended due to the modern truncation of the site.

Phase 2 In March 2001 the Oxford Archaeological Unit (OAU) carried out a field
evaluation at the site of the former Delta Works, Millmarsh Lane, in the Borough of Enfield, Greater London on behalf of Gazeley Properties Ltd (Site Code - MLM00). The evaluation consisted of two 50 m long trenches in the south-western corner of the site which revealed four small features, three of which may be Roman or pre-Roman. However, the dating evidence for these features was poor. Modern disturbance was found overmuch of the evaluated area.