Land near Birch (TL 94416 21596 to 94777 20238; EHER 11912 and 11925) A trial-trenched evaluation was undertaken by Birmingham Archaeology in the parish of Birch, to the west of Roman River, a 1.5km section of the Abberton to Wormingford Pipeline. Seventeen 50m-long trenches (x 2m wide) were excavated (4% sample), placed to cover a representative sample of the pipeline easement as well as focusing upon likely locations of buried archaeological deposits and features identified as cropmarks. <1> Archaeological features were identified in Trenches 66, 67, 70, 73, 76, 77, 79, 80 and 81 and comprised ditches, gullies and post-holes. Ditches 66009 and 66011 (both T66) contained 30 sherds (207 g) of flint tempered pottery, including rims (66009). The rims from 66009 were tiny, simple, rolled rims, possibly from early Neolithic Plain Bowls. The lug/cordon, which is either finger tip formed or decorated, may also be early Neolithic. See ECC3653 and ECC3654 for the subsequent excavation.<2> Note that only those parts of the pipeline crossing river valleys were investigated.