The site lies C.I 00m. south of the River Thames in the village of Cookham. Immediate y to the north is the parish church, a Saxon minster, and its churchyard. The center of the modem village lies to the south.

Strategy

Four trenches were laid out to bracket the proposed development area (see attached plan). All were 1m wide. A small mechanical excavator was used to remove the overburden. The trenches were cleaned by hand and all archaeological features were fully recorded.

Results

The general stratigraphy of all four trenches was the same. Modern garden loam and building debris overlay a built-up of dark brown humus which, in turn, lay on alluvial deposits up to 0.50m thick. This alluvial material had been deposited on natural sand and gravel, whose surface was 1-1.5m below modem ground level.

Trench I

A grave was found at the east of the trench. It was buried in a shallow cut. 0.70m. below modern ground level. The skeleton was well preserved. The body had been laid on its back, its head to the west There was no evidence for a coffin and no dating material was recovered from the fill. Its proximity to the south edge of the churchyard suggests that this is an outlying grave of that.

The southeast comer of a building was excavated at the west end of the trench. It was constructed of roughly squared chalk rubble, laid in courses. The rest of the building lay to the northwest beyond the limits of the trench. While no precise dating evidence for the building was found, it predated two ditches, running east-west, located immediately to the south. Both these ditches contained pieces of post-medieval tile and pottery.

Two pits were excavated. Both had been cut from a level immediately beneath the topsoil; both are therefore post-medieval in date.

Trench IV produced a single worked flint flake from beneath the alluvium, evidence of prehistoric activity in the area.

Recommendations

There are no archaeological objections to the proposed development. However, the discovery of the grave at the north of the site, and the proximity of the churchyard, suggests that it is likely further graves may be uncovered in the course of building work. On these grounds, a watching brief and access to record any archaeological features encountered during work on the site must be considered essential.