Excavation of Area ‘A’ by G Hayman of SCAU prior to residential development following a series of evaluations in 2002. A number of Mesolithic or Neolithic struck flints recovered attest to occupation in the area for a considerable period. However, the main period of occupation on the site appears to have begun around the middle of the 1st century AD (although some residual pottery fragments of a potentially earlier date were recovered) and to have continued until the late 2nd/early 3rd centuries. A ring gully appeared to be one of the earliest features in the area. It probably represented the location of a former building, although the ground plan was not typical of a diagnostic south/east opening more common with gullies associated with structures, and unusually it is possible that the feature had more than a single entrance. The fill of the gully also contained a group of pottery vessels that were possibly deposited ceremonially. A series of postholes may relate to a further structure, although the edge of the excavation obscured the area where evidence may have proven the existence of a former four-post building, typical of such features commonly found on Iron Age/Romano-British sites. Evidence for additional structures was revealed during the evaluation, but these were situated in an area designated for preservation in situ, and thus beyond the scope of this excavation. However, certain ditch fills from this phase of work contained enough charcoal, ceramic building material and nails to suggest that they were the product of the destruction and demolition of at least one building. Most of the major ditches discovered in the area were thought to relate to agricultural process, such as field enclosure or stock control, although some features interpreted as drainage ditches were revealed, and two parallel ditches appear to delineate the course of a former trackway. Work on the site will continue in 2005 on Area ‘B’. (SyAC)