PCA Winchester was commissioned to undertake an archaeological watching brief (monitoring and recording) on land at Down Farm where the site was the subject of a development to construct a 30MW containerised battery storage unit.

The watching brief monitored the stripping of topsoil for the battery storage facility as well as the excavation of the cable trench. One aim of the watching brief was to record archaeological remains that are identified, taking account of the date, nature, extent, bio-archaeological and palaeo-environmental potential of the remains. A further aim was to prepare an archive of the results of the investigation leading to the preparation of a report. As a minimum the report aimed to satisfy the requirement of the County Archaeologist that the watching brief was carried out.

The site lies within an area of known archaeological assets which made the archaeological monitoring and recording a requirement of planning consent. The site lies within the environs of Merdon Castle which comprises a medieval motte and bailey castle which is set within a Bronze Age to early Iron Age hillfort.

The watching brief revealed no significant archaeological remains apart from an undated ditch which coincided with crop marks which had been mapped in the area. Minimal archaeological remains were recorded during the monitoring exercise.

The programme of works was concluded, and the results were publicised in line with planning consent.