Evaluation by S Stevens of ASE recovered two pieces of Mesolithic/Early Neolithic flintwork and some late post-medieval material, but no features of archaeological interest.

Evaluation by T Munnery of SCAU. Medieval features comprising pits, postholes, a well and a possible buried soil were revealed. Two of the features and the buried soil may be as early as the late 12th or early 13th century. A relatively large number of struck flints, mostly of Mesolithic but also Neolithic date were recovered, mostly from one location in a limited-sized test pit. Sherds of Roman and Saxon pottery recovered are likely to be residual and unlikely to indicate that significant evidence from these periods is present on the site.

Strip, map and sample by H Nicholls of ASE. A small assemblage of unstratified/residual Mesolithic to Early Neolithic flintwork, a single pit of Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age date, and a medieval ditch were revealed. The pit contained three, possibly four, partially complete pottery vessels, which may have been deposited in semi-complete states.

Evaluation by S Stevens of ASE revealed a Roman gully and two further undated gullies at the northern end of the site, possibly part of a field boundary or enclosure. The presence of a humic garden soil in the north-western part of the site correlates with the area of a small enclosure depicted on late 19th and 20th century maps and suggests that this may have been used for domestic cultivation. A small assemblage of artefacts including prehistoric flintwork, medieval and post-medieval pottery and ceramic building material was recovered from the overburden.

Members of SyAS, led by R Hooker, undertook a fieldwalking exercise across a recently ploughed field on the southern slopes of St Martha’s Hill belonging to Chilworth Manor. Some 300 flint artefacts were recovered of which approximately 10% were tool forms, mostly blades, cores and scrapers. Two probable Romano-British sherds were recovered together with some late medieval and post-medieval fragments of ceramic building materials, but no significant clusters for any period were recorded.

Evaluation by T Black of OA. Evidence of activity of several periods was found, mostly at the north end of the site. A buried soil covering at least 40m2 was found on the west side of the site that contained a mixture of struck flints of Mesolithic and Bronze Age date. The presence of flints of two dates in the same layer suggests this may have been a colluvial layer containing material derived from further upslope. To the east, a small pit contained undiagnostic struck flints that may be of earlier prehistoric date.

Evaluation by T Munnery of SCAU. The earliest material was Late Upper Palaeolithic/Mesolithic and Mesolithic/Neolithic flintwork from later features and overburden although residual, may originate from an occupation site or sites nearby. The most concentrated phase of activity was of Bronze Age, especially Late Bronze Age, date. Pits and ditches and a buried subsoil indicate the utilisation of the site for settlement.

Excavation by G Dawkes of ASE. A small quantity of Mesolithic flint was recovered, mostly from later features. The earliest datable features were four pits containing Early Neolithic pottery and flintwork. A scalene point recovered from one of the pits may represent the continued use of Mesolithic technology into the Early Neolithic. Three ditches containing Neolithic flintwork were revealed, although it was considered that these may be residual finds in later prehistoric features.

Evaluation by N Randall of SCAU. Two ditches and a pit of Early Iron Age date were revealed, although the quantities of Late Bronze Age pottery within the features also suggested occupation of this date on the site. Some Late Iron Age pottery was also present, together with flintwork of possible Mesolithic/Neolithic–Iron Age date. Subsequent excavations on the site conducted by G Thacker of OAS revealed more of the ditches, together with an additional pit and a posthole of similar provenance.

Excavation by D Calow of SyAS to test one of the anomalies revealed during a resistivity survey 20m to the east of the chapel in 2008. Three pits were revealed, containing finds suggestive of an 18th century date and possibly related to the annual fair. Worked flint consistent with reports of Mesolithic material discovered in the area in 1976 was recovered, but the anomaly noted during the previous survey was thought to have been caused by the underlying geology. (Bulletin 422)