Photo: D.A.Edwards

ROMAN

No.20, 1983: Burgh Castle: Excavations by Charles Green 1958–61, by Stephen Johnson
128pp, 45figs, 12pls. £21.50

Burgh Castle is commonly identified with the Gariannonum of the Notitia Dignitatum, and one of the forts of the Saxon Shore. Green's excavations suggest that it existed by the 340s AD with no earlier occupation on the site. He examined parts of the walls, bastions and internal turrets, as well as locating two buildings. A 5th-century hoard of glass vessels was discovered within a bronze bowl inside an iron-bound bucket, and this suggested occupation beyond the Roman period.

Burgh Castle has been identified with Cnobheresburg, mentioned by Bede as having been given by Sigheburt, king of the East Angles, to the Irish Saint Fursey for a monastery in the 630s. Although several oval huts, a 7th to 10th-century cemetery of 150 graves, and Middle Saxon pottery were found, they are not considered to be firm evidence for the monastic site — the question remains open. In the 11th century a motte was built in a corner of the fort with a timber tower on top. This was levelled by the 19th century.

Stephen Johnson has produced a splendid report from sometimes incomplete and subjective excavation records. This popular book has been out of print for some years; reprints are now available from Heritage Marketing and Publications www.heritagemp.com/cstock/i56069book.html

No.23, 1985: Excavations at Brancaster 1974 and 1977, by John Hinchliffe with Christopher Sparey-Green
239pp, 94figs, 22pls, microfiche. £13.50 £7.20

Brancaster, the Branodunum of the Notitia Dignitatum, was the most northerly fort of the Saxon shore system. Aerial photographs revealed evidence of internal buildings within the fort, and enclosures and trackways of an extensive settlement outside.
    Excavations in the settlement to the west of the fort suggested that the site had been laid out to a regular plan, with ditches defining house plots and trackways. This occurred before the end of the 2nd century and lasted through the 3rd century.
    It is suggested that the settlement may relate to an early military establishment. In the second quarter of the 3rd century the Saxon shore fort was built, on a slightly different alignment, and was occupied throughout the 4th century, when occupation in the settlement had finished.
    There are extensive reports on the pottery and animal bones which give valuable information about the economy of the site. Surface finds from the fort and adjacent settlement include both military and civil metalwork.

No.25, 1985: Excavations by Mr H.P. Cooper on the Roman Site at Hill Farm, Gestingthorpe, Essex, by Jo Draper
106pp, 45figs, 11pls. £12.00£6.50

Following the discovery of Roman masonry buildings on his farm in 1948, Harold Cooper excavated, fieldwalked, and recorded discoveries in field drain trenches over the next 25 years.
    Evidence of three buildings, floors, yards, gullies, ditches and hearths were found. A magnetometer survey helped to elucidate other features in the field.
    The finds were numerous and include model tools of votive type along with evidence of bronze-working, iron-working and statuette manufacture. They suggest a rural religious site, with occasional market fairs.
The site was occupied over a long period, from the late Iron Age to the 4th century, with a decline in the second half of that century.

No.30, 1986: Excavations at Thornham, Warham, Wighton and Caistor St Edmund, Norfolk, by Tony Gregory and David Gurney
62pp, 38figs, 18pls. £7.50£4.15

The first part of this report describes excavations carried out by R.R. Clarke, between the end of World War II and 1963.
    They include a Romano-British enclosure of mid-1st century AD date at Thornham, re-occupied in the 2nd century and finally used as an Early Saxon cemetery. At Warham Burrows, Clarke excavated part of a Late Iron Age rectangular ditched enclosure. Close by, at Warham Camp, a section across the defences revealed details of the ramparts and the remains of a timber structure at the top of the inner bank. Excavations also showed that this Iron Age fort had been originally circular, with a possible south-western entrance, destroyed by the straightening of the river. At Wighton a further defended enclosure was investigated by Clarke, and shown to have been built in the century before the Roman conquest.
    Thornham, Warham Burrows and Wighton are rectangular enclosures similar to others known from aerial photographs, and to the excavated enclosure at Gallows Hill, Thetford. They are all discussed as a group, examining their locations and their relationships to the Iron Age forts in Norfolk.
    The second part of this report describes the Romano-Celtic temple at Caistor St Edmund, the excavations of which were initiated by Clarke. A cult-centre is suggested by its positioning inside a large temenos with a monumental gateway, also containing other buildings.

No.31, 1986: Settlement, Religion and Industry on the Fen-Edge; three Romano-British sites in Norfolk, by David Gurney
162pp, 95figs, 23pls, microfiche. £15.35£8.10

This volume describes three sites, excavated between 1957–64, by Charles Green and Ernest Greenfield. Each site illuminates one particular aspect of the Roman period in the environmentally diverse, and economically rich area of the Fen edge.
    At Feltwell a 4th-century villa and bath house probably formed the nucleus of an estate surrounded by field systems, droveways and enclosures. The finds included a well-preserved steelyard, two 'exotic' objexts of elephant ivory, and an early 5th-century Germanic sword.
    At Leyland's farm, Hockwold cum Wilton, four diadems and a crown were found in the ploughsoil. Subsequent excavations discovered a fifth diadem, and a possible favissa, the building within a temple enclosure where sacred objects were stored. It was built about 200 AD and used until the late 4th century. The priestly headgear, an unusual brooch group, possible votives and a large number of coins confirm the interpretation of the temple site. The finds suggest a connection with the Eastern cult of Attis and Cybele.
    At Denver, an extensive roadside settlement beside the Fen Causeway produced evidence of late 2nd/early 3rd-century salt production — an important part of the local economy. Few sites of this kind have been published, so the treatment of the finds has been extensive, a model created of the salt production process, and other saltern sites in the Roman Fenland discussed.
    Finally, all three sites are placed into their regional background and related to other settlements on the Fen edge, and their importance is assessed.

No.40, 1988: Burgh: The Iron Age and Roman Enclosure, by Edward Martin
81pp, 62figs, 4pls, microfiche. £8.00£4.40

Burgh is the largest Iron Age fortification in Suffolk, still visible at ground level. Only two other sites in the county are broadly comparable, Barnham and Clare Camp, but the latter is not definitely Iron Age.
    This report brings together the results of three periods of excavation, 1900–1901, 1947–1957, and 1975. The enclosure is bivallate, roughly rectangular and encloses 7 hectares. It was probably built in the 1st century BC as a minor oppidum — the regional centre and seat of a local chieftain with market, administrative and religious functions. It was destroyed about 15–25 AD. An inner enclosure of 1 hectare, was built in the north-west corner, probably just before the Conquest. This was occupied, either by an official or a noble until it was partly flattened about 60 AD. However, the enclosure was used well into the 4th century, as the centre of a villa estate.
    The excavations discovered a selection of important finds, which included a good sequence of pottery, from the hand-made Iron Age wares to the Belgic wheel thrown wares, along with many Gallo-Belgic imports. These reflect the high status of the enclosure.
    The conclusions place Burgh into context within Iron Age Suffolk, and discuss later settlement history based on the supposition that it became the centre of a Saxon estate.

No.48, 1989: West Stow, Suffolk: the Prehistoric and Romano-British occupation, by Stanley West
117pp, 69figs, 7pls. £11.00£5.90

In this, the third and final West Stow report, evidence for occupation of the site before the Anglo-Saxon village will be described and discussed. Mesolithic occupation is attested by a series of flint concentrations and Late Neolithic activity by a ring-ditch, presumably representing a barrow, which contained a central burial pit and over 40 un-urned cremations. A series of small enclosures, a large number of pits, an extensive pottery assemblage and quantities of animal bone represent a considerable Iron Age occupation. Romano-British activity seems to have been largely confined to pottery producation and associated occupation material. Five kilns have been excavated, of generally 2nd to early 3rd-century date, producing a wide range of forms.

No.60, 1993: Caister-on-Sea: Excavationsby Charles Green, 1951–55, by Margaret J. Darling and David Gurney
ISBN 0 905594 07 X; 308pp, 145figs, 36pls, microfiche. £39.05£21.00

The Roman defended site at Caister, hitherto viewed as a small town, can now be seen as an early coastal fort probably contemporary with Reculver and Brancaster, both of which appear in the Notitia Dignitatum as forts of the Saxon shore. The Caister fort is of earlier Roman type, with a defensive wall backed up by an earthen rampart. Finds indicate occupation by cavalry from the early 3rd century to later 4th century, although specifically late military equipment is absent. The site was unoccupied until the Middle Saxon period, when outside the walls an extensive cemetery developed which was in use from the 8th to 11th centuries. Several burials containing rows of clench nails indicate that parts of boats were used as coffin lids or biers. Further burials were recorded within the fort itself, and both cemeteries exhibit Christian characteristics. It is likely that they were associated with a church, perhaps a minster. Was Caister, rather than Burgh Castle, Fursa's monastery of Cnobheresburg?

No.73, 1995: The Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Spong Hill, Part VII: Iron Age, Roman and Early Saxon settlement, by Robert Rickett
ISBN 0 905594 16 9; 182pp, 146figs, 14pls, microfiche. £22.80 £17.00

Excavation of the Anglo-Saxon cemetery also revealed  extensive occupation evidence: late Iron Age and Roman enclosures and field boundaries, an early Roman kiln, and a small settlement of 'sunken huts' and post-hole buildings possibly contemporary with the cemetery.
    Full reports on the structural data, artefacts and environmental evidence illustrate the different phases of activity. The pottery in particular provides an opportunity for discussion of the Iron Age to Roman 'transition'. The lengthy settlement sequence, covering two 'periods of transition' — Iron Age/Roman and Roman/ Anglo-Saxon — lends the results importance, and this report makes a useful contribution to the study of rural settlement and economy in East Anglia (see also EAA 39).

No.76, 1996: Orton Hall Farm: A Roman and Early Saxon Farmstead, by Donald Mackreth
ISBN 0 9528105 0 6; 255pp, 121figs, 9pls, microfiche. £35.00

Excavation in the parish of Orton Longueville during the 1970s revealed a farmstead which had been occupied from c.50AD right through into the 6th century.
    At its greatest extent, in the 4th century, the farmstead included three barns, a house with a walled yard, a large rectangular building and a mill-house. Important evidence for the milling of grain, brewing and animal management was recovered. The farm was apparently a large establishment having many features in common with a medieval manor, and it may have been an imperial estate. Occuption continued into the Saxon period, with evidence of a granary and possibly a hall.

review

No.83, 1998: Excavations to the south of Chignall Roman Villa, Essex 1977–81, by C.P. Clarke
ISBN 1 85281 161 7; 168pp, 71figs, 14pls, microfiche. £15.00

Excavations from 1977–81 within a ten hectare area south of the scheduled villa at Chignall St James, showed continuous development from a Middle Iron Age settlement into a prosperous Roman estate. Unusually high proportions of cattle bone indicate the centrality of stock-keeping in the site's economy throughout the Roman period. It is inferred that a late Roman cemetery is the burial ground for a group of coloni. The villa, known to have had a bath-house in the late 1st century, appears to have been unenclosed until the 3rd century. This hexagonal enclosure later influenced the alignment of an early medieval narrow-rig field system.

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No.86, 1998: Excavations at the Orsett 'Cock' Enclosure, Essex, 1976, by G.A. Carter
ISBN 1 85281 163 3; 184pp, 106figs, 2pls, microfiche. £14.50

The initial occupation of the site dates from the Middle Iron Age, represented by pottery and a single building. In the Late Iron Age an enclosure containing a small building was constructed. During the Conquest period a larger triple-ditched defensive enclosure with a central roundhouse was constructed to the south-east of the initial enclosure. The ditches were rapidly backfilled but the site continued in use as a farmstead until the late 3rd or early 4th century. Throughout the Romano-British period the enclosure boundaries were altered, and new buildings added. By the late 1st century the roundhouse had been replaced by an aisled domestic building, this in turn being replaced in the 3rd century by a second aisled building. In the mid 3rd century, four pottery kilns producing coarseware were constructed within the enclosure. Occupation of the site in the Early Saxon period is evidenced by five sunken-featured buildings.
    The archaeological features were well preserved and detailed post-excavation work has identified c.50 structures, including several previously unrecognised types of building.
    Large quantities of ceramic finds related to the Romano-British pottery kilns were recovered, as well as Late Iron Age and Saxon assemblages. Notable among the finds is a group of Late Iron Age spearheads associated with the backfill of the defensive enclosure.

review

No.88, 1999: Excavations of an Iron Age Settlement and Roman Religious Complex at Ivy Chimneys, Witham, Essex 1978–83, by Robin Turner
ISBN 1 85281 162 5; 283pp, 158figs, 27pls, microfiche. £26.00

The site at Ivy Chimneys, Witham, appears to have been occupied continuously throughout the Iron Age, and remained in use until the end of the Roman period.
    Most traces of domestic Iron Age structures were removed by ploughing, but the surviving ditches seem to indicate more than a simple farmstead. Very large, probably defensive, ditches of late Iron Age date may imply that the settlement at Ivy Chimneys was a focus of activity at that time, and a small amount of circumstantial evidence hints at a religious use for part of the site.
    The nature of activity in early Roman times is unclear, although there is ample evidence for occupation of some form. The instigation of two large, long-lived, artificial depressions at this time may point towards the beginnings of Roman religious activity on the site. In the 3rd century AD a large, almost square, post-hole structure, interpreted as a Romano-Celtic temple, was constructed on the crest of the hill, and was enclosed by various ditches remnant of earlier activity. A large pond with a sophisticated water regulation system was constructed at about this time, and isolated timber columns may also have been present.
    A new temple appears to have been constructed in the early 4th century, represented by a continuous ditch enclosing a sub-rectangular area. An adjacent depression contained votive material and may have been used for religious ceremonies, although a pottery kiln appears to have produced only conventional material.
    The interpretation of a Christian phase in the mid-4th century is based on the presence of a baptismal font constructed of tile, and of a small two-celled structure, possibly a chapel. Other evidence may indirectly point to a pause in the pagan activity, but no specifically Christian portable objects were found.
    In the late 4th and early 5th century the site was certainly used as a pagan shrine, as attested by numerous votive offerings such as coins and pieces of jewellery. There is no evidence for the date of the final destruction of the site, but the presence of a relatively high number of Theodosian coins suggests continued activity well into the 5th century.

No.89, 1999: Lincolnshire Salterns, Excavations at Helpringham, Holbeach St Johns and Bicker Haven, by Antony Bell, David Gurney and Hilary Healey
ISBN 0 948639 23 7; 108pp, 66figs, 36pls. £13.00

The four reports contained in this volume cover a timescale of more than 1500 years.
    The Iron Age salterns at Helpringham contain an unknown number of hearths with associated mounds, now almost ploughed away. In the Iron Age the sea reached this low-lying area which is now 24km from the coast, human activity and nature having combined to create a new landscape in the intervening centuries.
    There is a large body of evidence for considerable salt-making activity several centuries after the Helpringham salterns ceased operating. Two reports deal with a microcosm of the Romano-British salt producers at Holbeach St Johns.
    The final report, describing a salt-making site at Bicker Haven, takes the process forward into the middle ages and demonstrates how much salt-making methods, as well as the landscape, had altered during that time.

No.93, 2001: Excavation of a Romano-British Settlement on the A149 Snettisham Bypass, 1989, by Myk Flitcroft
ISBN 0 905594 31 2; 96pp, 11pls, 45figs £11.50

Truncated remains of an extensive settlement dating from the mid-first to the late second century survived beneath the modern ploughsoil at Snettisham. The Romano-British settlement was based on a mixed economy of farming and low intensity industry and demonstrated the survival of traditional techniques of house construction, and the continued importance of handmade pottery well into the Roman period. The excavation produced a useful pottery assemblage which complements other groups from the Saxon Shore Fort at Brancaster, and a number of Fenland sites.
A decline in valley floor activity occurred at approximately the same time as construction of a villa on higher ground to the east, and it is possible that environmental changes in the Fenland region during the third century resulted in a shift of settlement to the east. This eastern focus persisted in the Saxon and medieval periods, and no evidence was found for intensive post-Roman use of the excavated area.

No.97, 2001: Monument 97, Orton Longueville Cambridgeshire: a Late pre-Roman Iron Age and Early Roman Farmstead, by D.F.Mackreth
ISBN 0 9528105 1 4; 89pp, 47figs, 13pls, fiche. £10.50

Identified from cropmarks and excavated in 1974, the site consisted of three enclosures belonging to a small farmstead lasting from at least the later 1st century BC to the middle of the 2nd century AD. The evidence of the houses is that the site had been inhabited by a single family group at all times and had developed in tandem with the growing complexity of landscape division, and almost certainly was closed down in favour of another site nearby. After it was abandoned, its earthworks were incorporated into the Roman field system and, eventually, the corner of an enclosure was used for a small cemetery of nine burials.

No.98, 2002: Excavations at Little Oakley, Essex, 1951–78: Roman Villa and Saxon Settlement, by P.M.Barford
ISBN 1 85281 221 4; 214pp, 124figs, 18pls, fiche. £14.50

Excavations on the site of a Roman villa at Little Oakley in north-east Essex produced traces of prehistoric occupation, including early Neolithic flint-work and a large assemblage of later prehistoric pottery, although the nature of the Belgic occupation of the site is ambiguous.

In the Flavian period a large timber building was erected over a Roman sunken-floored structure interpreted as an agricultural building. A large fish pond and field ditches were also located to the east and south of the buildings. This was replaced in the 2nd century by a 'corridor villa' with masonry foundations, and in the mid 3rd century a bath block was inserted. To the south and west additional timber buildings were also constructed.

At some date in the 4th or 5th century the villa was dismantled and the rubble used to make platforms, probably for timber buildings. These rubble rafts contained handmade grass-tempered body sherds. Elsewhere on the site, Anglo Saxon occupation of the 5th century is demonstrated by pits and other features containing pottery, and an inhumation. Middle or Late Saxon handmade pottery was also found, but apart from a Saxo-Norman pit, the site appears to have been marginal. Ploughing probably began in the 16th century.

As well as describing the excavation results, this report also includes a detailed consideration of the evidence for the Roman villa estate, and the evolution of the villa estate into Domesday manors and medieval parishes.

No.99, 2002: Excavations at Melford Meadows, Brettenham, 1994: Romano-British and Early Saxon Occupations, by Andrew Mudd
ISBN 0 904220 24 9; 124pp, 63figs, 10pls. £12.50

In 1994, the Oxford Archaeological Unit examined part of a Romano-British and early Saxon settlement occupying a low sandy ridge on the left bank of the River Thet.

The Romano-British element of the site is interpreted as low status buildings and associated enclosures possibly belonging to a farmstead. The settlement appears to have lain outside, and to the north of, the excavated area. The fact that the excavation only explored part of the larger site means that statements about size and status must be made with due caution. Occupation probably started in the late 1st century but appears to have been light until the later 3rd and 4th centuries and to have ceased at the end of the 4th century. A small peripheral cemetery showed evidence of a range of burial practices characteristic of the late Roman period, including multiple burials and decapitations. The cemetery may be complete.

The early Saxon occupation started in the 5th century, and appears to have ended in the late 6th or 7th century. In common with many early Saxon settlements, its form and extent remain unclear and only part of the site was investigated. The main area of occupation appears to have been concentrated to the south of the Roman site and probably extended beyond the excavation area. A scatter of sunken-featured buildings (SFBs), pits, hollows and hearths were examined but no post-built structures were identified. Cultural remains were not prolific but loomweights, and perhaps surprisingly, iron smelting residues, indicate some of the activities practised.

The economies of both periods appear to have been based on mixed farming. In the Roman period charred cereal remains and millstone fragments suggest that crop-processing was important. A significant collection of animal bones associated with the early Saxon occupation indicated a dominance of cattle and it is possible that there was an increased emphasis on pastoralism in the 5th century.

No.105, 2003: Excavations at Great Holts Farm, Boreham, Essex 1992–4, by Mark Germany
ISBN 1 85281 222 2; 250pp, 14pls, 124figs, £21.50

Working in advance of gravel extraction, Essex Field Group uncovered an unusual Roman aisled timber villa, small bath-house and other buildings.
The villa, in its ditched compound within a regular network of fields and enclosures, was probably established in the early 2nd century, and then modified and expanded in the early 3rd to early 4th century. At its peak in the late 3rd or 4th century, it was distinguished by four or more timber buildings, including an aisled villa and an aisled house. Both structures were adjoined by a small bath-house and there was also a granary and perhaps a workshop or storehouse.
Food remains from a wealthy household were discovered in a well in front of the villa, including pine nuts, olive stones, chestnuts, walnuts and cherries. A small assemblage of bird bones from local species such as sparrowhawk, plover, woodcock and thrush was also discovered. A large assemblage of carbonised macrofossils from the granary indicated storage arrangements at the time of its destruction. A breed of unusually large imported cattle was used to facilitate the ploughing of the heavy clay soils in the surrounding fields, and both the cattle and the granary indicate an emphasis on arable production. Large, well-stratified assemblages of late Roman pottery and tile will augment local finds synthesis.
Prehistoric activity at the site includes two Neolithic placed deposits, two Bronze Age ring-ditches, a small unenclosed Late Bronze Age settlement and an Early Iron Age building. A dearth of later Iron Age and Early Roman features indicates a hiatus in activity from about 300 BC to AD 120/30. The Roman villa was abandoned in the late 4th or early 5th century but the close association between Roman and post-medieval ditches implies some form of continuity within the landscape.

No.106, 2004: Excavations at a large Romano-British Settlement at Hacheston, Suffolk, 1973–4, by Thomas Blagg, Judith Plouviez and Andrew Tester
ISBN 0 86055 278 0; 220pp, 16pls, 129figs; £25.00

The core of this `small town' was established before the conquest in AD43, and seems to consist of circular buildings, enclosed by ditches and a palisade. During the later 1st century a gravel road was laid out and insubstantial rectangular buildings were erected alongside it. This basic layout continued throughout the Roman period, with a droveway and partial field enclosures to the south. Pottery was manufactured at Hacheston between the later 1st and mid 3rd centuries, and the excavations also produced iron smithing debris and related structures.
The settlement continued as a market and manufacturing centre until the 4th century, when there was a marked drop in activity, and the place had become extremely impoverished by AD370. Early Anglo-Saxon structures were found just outside the Roman settlement.
The site was one of the first on which metal detecting was carried out, and the large assemblage of metal objects adds significantly to understanding both the chronology and the status of the settlement as a market and a manufacturing centre.

No.107, 2004: Excavations at Stansted Airport, 1986–91 (two vols),
by Richard Havis and Howard Brooks
Volume 1 Prehistoric and Romano-British, 354pp, 9pls, 223figs
Volume 2 Saxon, Medieval and Post-Medieval, 248pp, 3pls, 134figs
ISBN 1 85281 242 7; £50.00

This is an account of the archaeological work begun in 1985 in response to the development of Stansted as London’s third airport. Originally it was conceived as a medieval landscape project, focusing on the three known sites in the area — two of which were thought to be Domesday Manors — supplemented by fieldwalking of the entire development area. By 1991 the fieldwalking programme, coupled with large-scale excavations and watching briefs, had transformed our understanding of the settlement landscape of north-west Essex, with the discovery of extensive archaeological deposits dating back to the Neolithic.
The earliest occupation was characterized by Neolithic flint work, and the earliest identified structures were Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age, with one of the largest pottery collections of this date from Essex recovered from a single rubbish pit complex. Both enclosed and open settlements of Middle Iron Age date were excavated. One of these had an impressive entrance-way and substantial corner structures.
A complete defended settlement of the Late Iron Age (75-25 BC) was recorded. It contained a sequence of roundhouses placed around a central square structure, interpreted as a shrine. There is evidence for internal planning of the enclosed space and for the economy of the settlement, including luxury imports.
Roman settlement was represented by a series of sites with cobbled surfaces and enclosures, dating from the 1st to 4th centuries. A 1st to 2nd-century cremation cemetery comprised ‘family’ groups of burials. Two of the burials contained spectacular grave goods including bronze, glass and pottery vessels as well as many other items.
Environmental evidence demonstrated that agricultural activity continued in the Saxon period although no settlement sites were identified.
Occupation flourished in the medieval period, with several sites containing buildings of 12th and 13th century date. The most important of these was a complete farmstead, including barn, dwelling-house, kitchen and byre. All of the medieval sites were abandoned in the late 13th to 14th century.
Detailed analysis was undertaken on the upstanding post-medieval buildings, largely 17th century in origin, prior to their removal, and excavation of the below ground remains followed. The report ends by describing the construction of the Second World War airfield and its subsequent transformation as a major international airport.

No.113, 2006: Excavations at Kilverstone, Norfolk, 2000–02, by Duncan Garrow, Sam Lucy and David Gibson
ISBN-10: 0 9544824 2 5 / ISBN-13: 978 0 9544824 2 8; 250pp, 26pls, 136figs; £20.00

Excavations by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit near Kilverstone revealed an occupation sequence spanning the Neolithic to the post-medieval periods. Extensive Early Neolithic activity was evidenced by 236 clustered pits containing quantities of pottery, worked and burnt flint, charred hazelnuts and seeds and other material. The site is of national importance, with the number of pits discovered placing it alongside the type-sites of Hurst Fen and Broome Heath. A smaller number of Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age pits, along with six cremations and a Middle Iron Age structure, attests to intermittent further activity. In the mid 1st century BC a settlement was established which was occupied until the 4th century AD.

Initially, the later Iron Age/Roman settlement is evidenced by boundary and enclosure ditches, and a number of pits, but the area then saw construction of a series of square and rectangular structures. In the later 2nd century AD, activity appears to have been focused around a large aisled building. In the 3rd and 4th centuries, these buildings were replaced by three circular buildings, one of which is tentatively interpreted as a metallurgical workshop (with a double-acting force pump associated). Outside was a series of pits containing a ‘blacksmith’s hoard’: a stack of pewter plates and a selection of metalworking and agricultural tools.

Activity at the site was again intermittent until perhaps the 6th century, when a small Anglo-Saxon settlement, consisting of at least ten buildings associated with sunken features and four post-built halls, was established. This was probably associated with a small number of burials to the south, four of which were furnished with weapons (though, unusually, none with jewellery), and there was a further urned cremation. No subsequent activity was recorded at the site except for medieval and later field ditches and a ‘Suffolk-type’ brick kiln probably associated with the nearby village of Kilverstone.

No.123, 2008: Farming on the Edge: archaeological evidence from the clay uplands west of Cambridge, by Joe Abrams and David Ingham
ISBN 978 0 9556546 0 2; 130pp; 86 illustrations; specialist reports on CD; £25.00

A ridgeway in an exposed location on heavy clay soils was not favoured for settlement, except during the Iron Age and Roman period, when a number of farmsteads were established. At this time, a network of drove-ways criss-crossed the area, linking the farmsteads and a number of livestock enclosures.

Four farmsteads were identified, all likely to have followed a mixed pastoral/arable regime, although little ecofactual evidence for arable cultivation was recovered. However, an extensive area of early Roman fields, probably used for arable farming, was identified between Ermine Street and Childerley Gate. These fields systems are notable for their alignment with Ermine Street, contrary to the predominantly NE?SW alignment of the main topographic features in this area. They may indicate that, in the Roman period, the landscape was being structured at more than a purely local level.

The largest of the farmsteads, at Childerley Gate; may have belonged to an imperial estate, with the regularity of its initial layout suggesting that it was planned. Substantially reorganised at the beginning of the 4th century, it may have changed hands, perhaps becoming a veteran settlement. Occupation possibly continued into the 5th century.

No.125, 2008: Life in the Loop: Investigation of a Prehistoric and Romano-British Landscape at Biddenham Loop, Bedfordshire, by Mike Luke
ISBN 978 0 9556546 1 9; 320pp, 192 illustrations; £25

The Biddenham Loop has been the scene of human activity from the Palaeolithic through to the present-day but the majority of the archaeological evidence spans the Neolithic to the early 4th century AD. Apart from two handaxes, probably brought up from deep within the gravel by recent quarrying, no evidence for Palaeolithic activity was recovered. Given that the Biddenham area once had a reputation as a prolific source of material of this date, its absence is explained by the development’s relatively limited impact on the underlying gravel terrace.

Field artefact collection provided valuable information on the location of late Mesolithic/early Neolithic and late Neolithic/early Bronze Age occupation. During the earlier period, activity was concentrated along the edge of the river terrace. In contrast, the late Neolithic/early Bronze Age flint concentrations were far more widespread, extending into the interior of the Loop. No direct connection between this change and the tree-throw holes recorded in the excavation areas could be demonstrated but it is clear that extensive tree clearance must have taken place at this time.

A small number of probable Neolithic monuments, including rectangular and oval enclosures, were identified. Dating and function remain uncertain because the evidence for them derives mainly from non-intrusive survey. The high density of late Neolithic/early Bronze Age monuments, including thirty ring ditches, is suggestive of a ‘monument complex’, several of which have been identified along the Great Ouse. The ring ditches occurred in clusters, each in the vicinity of at least one Neolithic monument, suggesting a degree of continuity. One ring ditch actually truncated a probable Neolithic shaft. In addition to the monuments, some of which may have been associated with funerary practices, cremation burials were found in flat graves. In terms of location, the monuments (identified as cropmarks, geophysical anomalies and excavated features) and ‘settlement’ areas (identified by flint concentrations) were mutually exclusive. Where excavation was undertaken below flint concentrations, few sub-surface features were identified; it is presumed that the only evidence for ‘settlement’ survived in the ploughsoil. Elsewhere, where ‘settlement’ evidence was found, it comprised individual, or clustered, small pits.

Although the nature of any ‘settlement’ prior to the late Bronze Age is uncertain, thereafter the Biddenham Loop was continuously occupied until the end of the Romano-British period. This longevity of settlement must be due in part to local topography: a riverine location with adjacent land just above the flood plain. Any settlement would have been well positioned to exploit a range of natural resources. The main area of late Bronze Age-early Iron Age settlement was unenclosed and quite extensive. It contained several concentrations of features including small pits, water pits and post-built structures. Although limited, the evidence suggests that the settlement was permanent and that mixed agriculture was practised. At this time, the first physical land division, in the form of a pit alignment, was constructed within the Biddenham Loop. This has the appearance of a single boundary, designed to ‘cut off’ the southern two thirds of the area enclosed by the river’s meander. However, traces of a second pit alignment have been identified to the south, closer to the river, suggesting that a more complex series of boundaries may await discovery.

Six unenclosed, early-middle Iron Age farmsteads were identified, all sharing similar topographical locations adjacent to but above the floodplain. Two were close to the earlier settlement, possibly suggesting some degree of continuity. The key identifying characteristic of each farmstead was the presence of a concentration of large storage pits. However, one also contained evidence for roundhouses and enclosures; another was associated with an inhumation burial. Such pits have traditionally been interpreted as seed grain stores, but sufficient evidence was recovered to suggest that mixed farming continued to be practised.

All four late Iron Age/early Romano-British farmsteads were close to, but not in exactly the same location as, their predecessors. They were more extensive, although usually only comprised one ditched enclosure. Both cremation, including a cemetery, and inhumation burials occurred on the periphery of the settlement areas. Away from the farmsteads there was evidence for dispersed and isolated activity, including field systems, short-term occupation and a possible shrine. The latter is interesting because of its isolated position, some distance from the nearest farmstead.

The four farmsteads continued to be occupied into the late 1st century AD, although they were augmented by extensive rectilinear systems of ditched enclosures. Most contained enclosures with settlement-type features but only one produced direct evidence for buildings in the form of roundhouses. All the farmsteads were subject to minor redesign; two of them displayed more fundamental changes with substantial boundary alterations. Only one of the farmsteads is considered to be of anything other than low status. A system of fields, associated with the farmsteads, was present over most of the interior of the Biddenham Loop. Trackways linked the farmsteads and provided access to the floodplain and, probably, the substantial contemporary settlement at Kempston Church End. Although the precise status of the latter is uncertain, its presence is likely to have had a major influence on the inhabitants of the Biddenham Loop, providing a market for any surplus they produced. However, there is little evidence for high status goods coming out to the farmsteads in return.

The farmsteads ceased to function by the early 4th century, although there is some non-intrusive survey evidence for Saxon activity on at least one of them. However, settlement within the Biddenham Loop effectively ceased as it became incorporated into Biddenham township’s open fields.

This report presents the results of archaeological investigations undertaken in 2003–5 along the 6km route of the A505 Baldock bypass, Hertfordshire. The evidence spans the late Neolithic to the medieval period, although no evidence for activity from the later 5th century to the beginning of the 11th century was found. The late Neolithic evidence was dispersed across the route corridor and comprised bowl-shaped pits, shaft-like pits and a small funerary enclosure. Early Bronze Age activity was restricted to the northern portion of the route and included a small roundhouse and a cluster of seven barrows. These barrows subsequently became the focus of burial activity in the late Iron Age and earlier Roman period.

Evidence for early to middle Iron Age activity was concentrated on the Clay-with-flints soils of the Weston Hills. It comprised clusters of pits and occasional post-holes which were grouped into a series of activity areas. The pottery recovered hints at a chronological shift from north to south. These activity areas are thought to represent evidence for more permanent settlement, although the actual dwellings are assumed to lie outside the route corridor.

Roman boundary ditches and enclosures were found across most of the route corridor. Although evidence is somewhat piecemeal, there does appear to have been a reorganisation of the land boundaries, evidenced by infilling of later Iron Age boundaries and the excavation of new boundaries along a different alignment. Dominating the evidence for the Roman period were two roadways, each displaying a sequence of maintenance and repair. Both roadways lead into the Roman town of Baldock and both were on a similar alignment. A study of the repair sequences and associated finds suggests that a continuing problem of drainage and silting on one road led to the construction of a slightly realigned replacement.

Evidence for medieval settlement was confined to the northern portion of the route corridor, and included a rectangular enclosure containing a cemetery, pits and post-holes, with evidence of a hollow way running along the western side of the enclosure. Analysis of documentary evidence strongly suggests that this enclosure can be identified as the 13th-century Hospital of St Mary Magdalene in the parish of Clothall.

Woodland clearance along the route appears to have been complete by the early Bronze Age, with the earlier landscape probably a patchwork of woodland, pasture and cultivated fields. This clearance appears to be associated with a reduction in the numbers of pigs kept by the Bronze Age farmers, and the development of a pastoral economy based upon cattle and sheep. Much of the route from later prehistory onwards has been open calcareous grasslands, probably well grazed by sheep, which became increasingly important in the local economy; much of the wealth of medieval Baldock derived from wool.

Occasional Paper Series

Occ Pap 1, 1996: A Romano-British farmyard at Weeting, Norfolk, by Tony Gregory, edited by David Gurney
ISBN 0 905594 18 5; 51pp, 24figs, 10pls. £5.50

A building was constructed on the edge of the Little Ouse valley in the 4th century, probably as a barn in the yard of a Romano-British farming establishment. It overlay other farmyard structures and, below them, land divisions and the ditches of a track. It is possible that these are the remains of a farm with its surrounding fields or paddocks, with the yard and finally the buildings expanding eastward into what had been open ground.

Occ Pap 2, 1997: A mortarium kiln at Ellingham, Norfolk, by Kay Hartley and David Gurney
ISBN 0 905594 22 3; 36pp, 14figs, 3pls. £4.70

The mortarium kiln at Ellingham, excavated in 1976, contained an exceptional number of mortaria, including between thirty-seven and forty-nine individual mortaria stamped by Regalis, a potter known to have worked at Colchester; these factors indicate a production site of special interest. Large numbers of stamped and unstamped mortaria were incorporated into the structure of the kiln and these probably came from an earlier kiln on the same site or nearby. The mortaria are stamped by Regalis, by Lunaucis, with a herringbone stamp or with a trademark stamp. The potter Regalis appears to have moved from Colchester to work at Ellingham in the period AD 170–190, and the mortaria with stamps of Lunaucis and those with herringbone stamps also show strong links with the Colchester tradition. The potter using the trademark die belonged to quite a different tradition from the other three. Further work is needed to clarify the issue, but it is possible that this tradition came from West Stow in Suffolk, where a stamp of this rarely-recorded potter was found.

Occ Pap 4, 1998: Roman burials in Norfolk, by David Gurney
ISBN 0 905594 24 X; 42pp, 20figs, 3pls. £6.50

This publication brings together reports on four burial sites in Roman Norfolk which, by chance, are mainly in the Norwich area. These include a wide range of burial types; a mixed cremation and inhumation cemetery at Bawburgh, lead coffins and a possible cremation vessel at Stonehills/Woodlands, Norwich, two rich cremation burials of the mid-60s at 'Oakwood', Stanley Avenue, Norwich, and a late 1st or early 2nd-century cremation at Hellesdon. The opening chapter provides an overview of the evidence from the County as a whole.

Occ Pap 6, 1999: A Roman malt house: excavations at Stebbing Green, Essex 1988, by Miranda and Owen Bedwin
ISBN 1 85281 193 5; 30pp, 2pls, 12figs. OUT OF PRINT

This occasional paper describes the rescue excavation of a Romano-British timber building and probable tank structure, interpreted as a malt house. The building was part of the estate centred on the Boxted Wood Villa, midway between Braintree and Great Dunmow. The malt house was probably operating during the 2nd and early 3rd centuries; it was thoroughly robbed out some time after the mid 3rd century.
The villa itself, c.250m to the north-west of the 1988 investigations, had been discovered in 1947. Details of the excavation that located it are published here for the first time, as an appendix.

Occ Pap 9, 2001: Roman pottery manufacture at Bourne Hill, Wherstead, by D.Gill, J.Plouviez, R.P.Symonds and C.Tester
ISBN 0 86055 262 4; 32pp, 16figs, 6pls; £5.50

Ditches of late Iron Age and Roman date, probably enclosing a settlement, were found in a small gravel extraction area on Bourne Hill, Wherstead. Two twin-flued Roman pottery kilns, in use sometime between AD50 and 70, were excavated in and adjacent to ditches. This is one of the few sites in Britain with good evidence for the production of cups and platters stamped with a maker’s mark. The full range of products is surprisingly varied, with some types unique to Wherstead, including copies of glass bowls, apparently an example of local experimentation stimulated by new Roman material.

Occ Pap 10, 2002: Roman Routeways across the Fens, by Heather Wallis
ISBN 0 905594 35 5; 59pp, 19figs, 2pls; £7.50

Excavations were undertaken across two Romano-British canals and the Fen Causeway, as part of the Fenland Management Project. Evidence for the construction of the canals and roads, their maintenance and their final phases of abandonment was revealed at all four sites. The environmental data that were recovered are as important and informative as the structural data and greatly increase our understanding of the environment and its effects on these communication routes.
Although some of the sites are spatially disparate, it has been possible to identify similarities as well as differences in construction and events which occurred, underlining the particular problems faced by those trying to settle and utilise an area which was environmentally unstable but at the same time productive. These routeways provided a crucial link between central Britain, via East Anglia, to the North Sea and beyond.

Occ Pap 13, 2003: The excavation of Romano-British pottery kilns at Ellingham, Postwick and Two Mile Bottom, Norfolk, 1995–7, by Sarah Bates and Alice Lyons
ISBN 0 905594 39 8; 120pp, 19pls, 60figs, £12.50

A mortarium kiln at Ellingham in South Norfolk was of late 2nd–early 3rd century date, and was slightly later than a similar kiln excavated at the site previously. Stamped mortaria, including sherds from vessels bearing a previously unknown stamp, were found within the kiln structure and in its fills.
Three pottery kilns excavated at Postwick near Norwich dated to the 2nd century AD. Each kiln was of a different structural type. Two were thought to have produced grey wares, while the third contained oxidised mortaria and white coarse wares.
Excavation at Two Mile Bottom, near Thetford, revealed the remains of at least three pottery kilns and other features of late Romano-British date. Again, the excavated kilns were all of different structural types. One kiln had apparently been built within the stoke hole of an earlier kiln, and its fills contained quantities of painted white ware of a type previously unknown in Norfolk. Pits, ditches and structural features dating to the Early Saxon period were also excavated, suggesting that activity continued from the Roman into the Saxon period.

Occ Pap 18, 2004: Romano-British industrial activity at Snettisham, Norfolk, by Alice Lyons
ISBN 0 905594 42 8; 78pp, 4pls, 38figs, £11.50

An evaluation in 1991 at Strickland Avenue revealed widespread remains datable to the Roman period, including field boundary ditches, a road, a chalk path, an inhumation and two upstanding pottery kilns. In 1994, a geophysical survey sought to identify further evidence for industrial activity, primarily additional pottery kilns. In 1998 the Norfolk Archaeological Unit excavated targeted areas but no further kilns were found.
The ‘spikes’ identified by the geophysical survey all proved to be large pits which are typical of Roman quarry pits used to extract the abundant iron stone contained in the natural sand. One example was provided with a chalk access ramp and revetted timber steps, while two more had subsequently been re-used as wells. Most of these pits had eroded rapidly and were finally closed with large dumps of pottery and metal working debris, domestic waste and building material. The presence of large flint and limestone slabs suggests that substantial buildings had existed in the area but were in a state of disrepair by the 4th century AD. Four sections of a Roman road were excavated where wheel ruts and mended pot holes could clearly be seen. On either side of the road were vast drainage and demarcation ditches that had been repeatedly cleaned and re-cut.

Occ Pap 20, 2004: A Roman Maltings at Beck Row, Mildenhall, Suffolk, by Ellen Bales
ISBN 0 86055 280 2; 83pp, 6pls, 25figs; £10.00

Excavation of a 1.7ha area at Beck Row, Mildenhall, revealed activity spanning the Bronze Age to Roman periods. Early Bronze Age features were few, but indicate settlement in the vicinity. During the Iron Age three circular buildings and a ditched enclosure system were established. By the 1st century AD domestic activity focussed on the south-west comer of the excavated area and clearly extended beyond this.
However, a Roman re-alignment and extension of the enclosure system included a large timber aisled building, which was fully rebuilt after burning down and was then abandoned after a second fire in the 3rd century. The building was used for agricultural rather than domestic purposes, possibly as a malt house. The site is viewed in the context of an intensely occupied area along the Fen edge in the Iron Age and Roman period.

Out of print

No.1 Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich and other sites in Suffolk
No.2 Norfolk; Harpley, Swaffham, Langhale, Yarmouth, Kings Lynn
No.3 Suffolk; Sproughton, Martlesham, Icklingham, Ipswich, Ubbeston
No.4 Thetford, Norfolk
No.5 Roman roads and sites, Norfolk
No.6 Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Spong Hill, North Elmham Norfolk Part I
No.7 Bergh Apton Anglo-Saxon cemetery, Norfolk
No.8 Norfolk; Banham, Brisley Common, Bircham, Shouldham, Hempstead etc.
No.10 Launditch Hundred, Norfolk
No.11 Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Spong Hill, North Elmham Norfolk Part II
No.12 The barrows of East Anglia
No.14 Trowse, Horning; and Eight Deserted Medieval Villages of Norfolk
No.15 Excavations in Norwich (Norwich Survey), Part I
No.16 Beaker Domestic Sites in the Fen-edge and East Anglia
No.21 Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Spong Hill, North Elmham Norfolk Part III
No.24 West Stow, the Anglo-Saxon Village
No.27 Archaeology and Environment, Lower Welland Valley (Fenland Project Number 1)
No.41 Great Dunmow, Essex: Romano-British Small Town
No.45 Norfolk Survey: Marshland and the Nar Valley (Fenland Project Number 3)
No.47 West Stow, Anglo-Saxon Animal Husbandry
No.51 Ruined and Disused Churches, Norfolk
No.54 Iron Age Forts of Norfolk
No.55 Lincs Survey: SW Fens (Fenland Project Number 5)
No.58 Norwich Households: Medieval and Post-medieval Finds
Occasional Paper No.6 Roman malt house at Stebbing Green, Essex