Excavation - Perry Oak Sludge Works.
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Gravel extraction at Harlington produced evidence of a probable Neolithic mortuary enclosure, with two distinct phases of use predating the middle Bronze Age. Investigation of the Stanwell Cursus during excavation of the Perry Oaks Sludge Works, Hillingdon revealed remarkable evidence for a short avenue of posts c35m long, apparently constructed prior to the cutting of the ditches, on the same alignment. The cursus had an internal bank that, although ploughed down, left a slight rise even in the modern ground surface. An evaluation at Gallions Reach, Thamesmead, established the context for a Mesolithic-Neolithic flint scatter at the base of a deep alluvial sequence at Erith Marshes. This complements work in 1995-96, when work on the Thamesmead to Erith Spine Road revealed the extensive distribution of sites associated with the well preserved prehistoric landscapes beneath this discrete block of Thames marsh.
A Bronze Age field system, with droveway, was identified during the excavation of Perry Oaks Sludge Works. It had been laid out around the Neolithic cursus and initially appeared to respect that monument, but an apparent settlement enclosure was subsequently found to extend over the adjacent cursus ditch and internal bank. Continuing fieldwork at Sipson Lane, Harlington revealed a small middle Bronze Age cremation cemetery, including five urned cremations, on an area of higher ground with a ditched boundary to one side. The magnetic susceptibility evidence suggests that the Neolithic enclosure may have been reused as the pyre site. The contemporary settlement (including field boundary ditches and a well) was located at the edge of the excavation, and seems to have been separated from the burial site by a distinctive tree and ditch 'barrier'. Traces of a Bronze Age ditched field system were recorded underlying medieval urban deposits at Uxbridge, and further work is planned in this area.
An evaluation at Belvue Park, Northolt produced Iron Age finds, indicating that this hilltop site has a long history of occupation, predating the Saxon and medieval manor. Excavation in advance of gravel quarrying at Hunts Hill Farm, Upminster revealed evidence of extensive late Bronze Age occupation consisting of a square enclosure with possible internal revetting, within which at least two large hut circles were recorded. Associated features consisted of postholes, pits, some with large quantities of ceramics, internal and external fence lines, and ditches. At Westcroft House, Carshalton, excavation revealed a penannular structure and associated pits and ditches and produced a high concentration of late Bronze Age artefacts. A horse skull, a red deer antler, and a broken saddle quern were excavated from contemporary features.