Site record MDR23012 - Ditch, Post Holes and Pits, Breadsall Hilltop, Mansfield Road, Derby

Large ditch, post holes and pits, Breadsall Hilltop, Mansfield Road, Derby, of possibly Early Iron Age date. Extensive evidence of activity that post-dated an Iron Age round house was recorded during an evaluation, followed by area excavations, in 2018. These remains were summarised as follows by the excavators: 'The large ditch is unusual and changed in character across the development area. Generally the feature was found to consist of a large original ditch which was followed by at least four re-cuts. Both the ditch and the re-cuts were found to become much larger as they progressed around the southern side of the hill The deepest stretch of the ditch was in the south which measured 2.4m (2.75m below current ground level) and the re-cuts followed this, almost entirely excavating the original ditch. …Early Iron Age pottery was found within the re-cuts but no artefacts were found within the original ditch. Roman pottery was found in one machine excavated slot but this was positioned high up in the section and probably represents an intrusive artefact. …A number of features were found in Area 1 which were oriented perpendicularly to the large ditch. These included the two smaller ditches in the south of Area 1 and the rectangular arrangement of post holes to the north. The orientation of these features could imply the large ditch was present in the landscape when they were formed. The large ditch and the perpendicular features projecting off it could represent the earliest activity from the Early Iron Age. The roundhouse does not respect the southerly perpendicular ditch and truncates it suggesting it was formed during a later phase of Early Iron Age activity. The ditch was found to have an unusual orientation and seems to curve as it progresses around the hill and bends to avoid the roundhouse. …following the contours of the hill...' (1)