Watching brief report: Villa Farm Quarry, Alresford, Essex

There are a number of archaeological sites in the vicinity. These include cropmark sites (EHCR nos 2361 and 2589-2591); among these are several ring-ditches, which, together with the find of a Bronze Age cinerary urn at Alresford Grange (EHCR no 2606), indicate that finds of prehistoric burials are particularly likely in the area. A Roman villa has been recorded under Villa Farm (now known as ‘Sunnymead Farm’) to the north-west). A watching brief was carried out on the eastern half of the same field by CAT in 2004, prior to quarrying (CAT project reference 04/4a: CAT Report 287). One possible prehistoric pit and two long undated ditches, which may have been field boundaries, were observed and recorded.