Evaluation and subsequent formal excavation in advance of the Runfold diversion, part of the Blackwater Valley Route, by Graham Hayman of SCAU for SCC, recorded a range of features including ditches, postholes, pits and a small four-post structure. Provisional examination of the pottery suggests that features of Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman and medieval date were present. A few sherds of Saxon pottery were also discovered. (273)

Observation by G R Pattison and P M G Jones for SCAU of trench cutting for cable TV revealed part of an Anglo-Saxon inhumation with possible grave goods including an iron spearhead and fragments of a pot with rosette stamps. Other finds from the general area included one probably IA sherd, various fragments of RB pottery, mostly 4th century, and some further fragments of Anglo-Saxon pottery.

Evaluation by B Langton of the Cotswold Archaeological Trust for Wates Built Homes Ltd recorded a scatter of mainly Neolithic flints and a number of features of Bronze Age date on this former racecourse adjacent to the Thames. More detailed excavation of the site was subsequently undertaken by P Andrews for Wessex Archaeology, which identified multi-period activity on an area of higher land.

Evaluation and subsequent excavation was carried out by J Robertson of SCAU for Nicholas King Homes, before residential development of the school grounds. The site lies outside the Roman and medieval settlement of Staines but in close proximity to the parish church. Numerous features of late Saxon date were revealed, confirming that there had been some shift of settlement during that period away from the site of the Roman town. Some features of Saxo-Norman date were identified, but insufficient to establish whether Duncroft was the site of Staines’ Manor House.

Evaluation by R Poulton of SCAU, on behalf of United House Construction, was carried out in advance of redevelopment. Two phases of flood deposits (Roman and post-Roman) were revealed below modern disturbance. These in turn overlay natural brickearth and gravels. The evaluation found no evidence for Roman or earlier features sealed by the flood deposits; in particular no trace of the possible Roman ditch identified by the Spelthorne Archaeological Field Group, during their work in 1992, was revealed in either trial trench.

Evaluation and subsequent excavation by R Taylor-Wilson of PCA, for Crest Homes, of this redevelopment site adjacent to the Thames. Struck flints recovered indicate Later Neolithic and Bronze Age settlement in the near vicinity, with some indication of Later Mesolithic or Early Neolithic activity as well. The site was most extensively occupied in the Later Iron Age, when a settlement, probably a small farmstead, was established, the main focus of which was outside the excavated area. The main features excavated were a series of enclosure ditches and numerous pits and postholes.

Evaluation and subsequent excavation by J Robertson of SCAU, for Countryside Commercial, of this redevelopment site. Evidence for prehistoric activity was recovered in the form of struck and burnt flint and a probably Bronze Age pot sherd. A sherd of grass-tempered Saxon pottery was also recovered. Well preserved stratigraphy indicated occupation in the vicinity from the late 13th century onwards, possibly associated with the medieval suburb of Styvynton, previously only known about from documents.

Evaluation by J Robertson of SCAU, for RMC Aggregates (UK) Ltd, in advance of mineral extraction. Although no features of archaeological interest were revealed, a number of stray finds indicate activity relating to the prehistoric, Roman, possibly Saxon, and medieval periods. A watching brief was subsequently maintained on stripping of the first phase for extraction and a pit and possible post hole were recorded. Both features contained a mix of finds ranging from struck flints, through Saxon grass-tempered pottery to medieval and post-medieval pottery. (321

Evaluation by J Robertson of SCAU for SCC’s Property Services Dept, of land to the north east of a known Anglo-Saxon cemetery, produced no evidence for burials. A few features, mainly ditches and gullies, were recorded, only one of which produced dating evidence - a sherd of late 12th/early 13th pottery. A number of stray finds were also recovered, including a sherd of Bronze Age pottery, pieces of struck and burnt flint and a sherd of Late Saxon pottery.

Evaluation by S Weaver of TVAS for Fairclough Homes Ltd, in advance of redevelopment. The recovery of a few pieces of grass-tempered Saxon pottery led to further evaluation by S Ford of TVAS, however no associated features were identified. It is likely that the Saxon and later medieval pottery recovered are the result of activities such as manuring. (310)