Archaeological Investigations at Church Farm West, Ball Mill Quarry, Grimley

With contributions by Hugo Anderson-Whymark, Ian Baxter, Alan Clapham, Nicholas Daffern, Emily Edwards, Laura Griffin, Robin Jackson and Ruth Shaffrey. Illustrations by Laura Templeton and Steve Rigby. A series of archaeological investigations culminating in the excavation of a 10.7ha area was undertaken at Church Farm West, Ball Mill Quarry, Grimley, Worcestershire, on behalf of Tarmac Limited ahead of mineral extraction. The excavation covered the majority of a Scheduled Ancient Monument and was completed under Scheduled Monument Consent. The granting of the consent followed the recognition of the detrimental impact on the monument of both historic and ongoing arable cultivation. This had resulted in severe truncation of archaeological deposits at the site to the extent that only the much reduced remains of larger features such as enclosure ditches and pits survived. Almost no evidence of internal structures or associated activities remained. The excavations focused on the exposure and recording of a series of surviving enclosures Which had been identified through cropmark evidence and subsequent archaeological evaluation. The work revealed a complex sequence of enclosures with associated tracks and field boundaries that were established and remodelled on successive occasions from the Iron Age through to at least the 3rd-4th centuries AD. Whilst the initial phases of enclosure were simple large rectilinear areas, later versions included internal divisions and a funnelling system towards the entranceway probably designed to allow easier control in the movement and separation of animal herds. Large dumps of burnt material and pottery were recovered from the ditches of one of the enclosures and were indicative of industrial activity occurring in the 3rd century AD before abandonment of this area during the 4th century.