Evaluation by trial trenching of an area to be used as a borrow pit for the Blackwater Valley Route, by Graham Hayman of SCAU for SCC. Occasional features of earlier prehistoric and Roman date were noted, but the principal archaeological interest within the site was evidence for Iron Age settlement. Formal excavation of five areas followed. Two of the excavated areas revealed some features of Iron Age date, but three areas contained the major parts of four substantial Iron Age settlements. The main settlement areas were bounded by substantial enclosure ditches within which the remains of round houses, smaller ditches, pits and postholes were found. All of the round houses had entrances facing east, indicated by short breaks in the eaves-drip gullies and two large postholes, one on either side of the doorway. In total eighteen round houses were found, including two which had been rebuilt. Two four-post structures, possibly used as granaries, were recorded and large water holes were also discovered. These were waterlogged and contained preserved wood, including part of a log ladder, formed by cutting notches into an oak log, as well as planks and stakes. Other finds included a bronze brooch dating to the 2nd century BC. Preliminary examination of the pottery suggests one of the sites may date to the 4th century BC, with the others daring to the 3rd or 2nd centuries BC. (281)