NORTHUMBERLAND

(1) Otterburn Training Estate, Yatesfield (NY 8693 9666):Footnote ³⁶ this second season of work concentrated on the previously uncovered working floor and opened new areas surrounding the site, including a stone and earth bank. The excavations uncovered a flagged surface which was initially interpreted as a stone-walled roundhouse working floor (fig. 14). Towards the end of the season a possible hearth was identified in the centre below the flagstones, indicating a possible reuse/rebuild of an older structure. Preliminary dating indicated that the later structure was dated between 42 b.c. and a.d. 118. Finds indicated possible contact with the Roman settlement at High Rochester. Artefact recovery was sparse but included fragments of quern stones.

FIG. 14.

Otterburn. The possible working area of flagged stone as uncovered in 2022, showing the extent of the roundhouse area. (@ Alex Southeran © Defence Infrastructure Organisation)

CUMBRIA

(1) Brougham Roman Fort, (Brocavum) (NY 51048 28933 to NY 79278 14526):Footnote ³⁷ monitoring within and outside the Scheduled Monument of the fort and vicus revealed possible road surfaces or cobbled surfaces thought to be related to the settlement. The section of cobbling outside of the Scheduled Monument likely represents an alternative alignment of the Roman road recorded in the area, though it is also possible that this feature post-dates the Roman period.

NORTH YORKSHIRE

(1) Sowerby, Sowerby Gateway (SE 4165 8081):Footnote ³⁸ excavations revealed a late Iron Age/early Romano-British enclosure with an internal ring ditch and associated features with an associated field system. During the Roman period, a highly sub-divided, large enclosure developed, complete with a complex field-system and associated trackway. The site was a complex farmstead which probably contributed to the local agricultural network and supplied surrounding Romano-British settlements. Features of note included pits of varying sizes, ring-ditches, a palimpsest of linear ditches and a stone structure. The stone structure was similar in form to known corn-dryers and represents possible grain-processing on site. A fragmentary quernstone and a potential grinding stone were also identified, indicating limited grain processing (drying and threshing) before transport elsewhere. The site gives insight into field management to intensify arable production to feed growing demand.

(2) York, a) Minster Garages (SE 6039 5235):Footnote ³⁹ excavations found a Roman building within the area of the legionary fortress. This comprised a north-west–south-east aligned stone wall with an exterior cobbled surface and a sandy clay deposit to the south-east, interpreted as a foundation for an internal floor surface. Pottery overlying the structure dated to the first–second century a.d. Two initial phases of construction of the fortress have been previously identified, moving from timber construction in the first century, followed by stone in the second century. The Minster Garages structure therefore likely relates to the second century and is probably part of the initial stone fortress. Based on the structure's location and evidence from the Minster Library excavations,Footnote ⁴⁰ it is suggested that the wall represented the centurion's quarters at the end of the barrack block. A possible internal wall was also observed but could not be confirmed. No evidence of a surviving floor surface was noted; however, mortar and opus signinum were present. Robber trenches, metalled surfaces and a post-hole dating from the second–third century were noted, indicating an alteration in use.

b) York Station Gateway, Queen Street (SE 5969 5145):Footnote ⁴¹ a watching brief in 2022 found second-century pits containing domestic refuse associated with nearby occupation evidenced in previous excavations in the area. During the late second/third to fourth centuries, dumping of waste and levelling was taking place. This activity appears to have been linked to the development within the neighbouring civilian settlement, which by a.d. 237 had acquired the status of colonia. Rubbish disposal also continued at this site in the third century. This was followed by the construction of a cobbled surface and possible structure in the late third or fourth century. At the end of the fourth century, occupation at Queen Street appears to have ceased and the area was turned over to agricultural use.

c) York Station Gateway, Early Duct Work (SE 5961 5157):Footnote ⁴² two Roman inhumation burials were found during the watching brief. One of the burials was lifted and assessed while the other was left in situ. Rubbish pits from the Roman period (second to third century) were also present. Landscaping disturbance of the Roman cemetery was evident from levelling deposits dated to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries relating to the construction of the station. No further direct evidence of the Railway Station Roman cemetery has yet been found.

d) The North Annexe, York Guildhall (SE 4600 4519):Footnote ⁴³ excavated in 2020, activity at the site began with the remodelling of land dropping down to the north-eastern bank of the River Ouse, in a location just to the south-west of the legionary fortress. By the late first century a.d. a succession of domestic buildings was constructed and replaced during the second to third centuries a.d. Painted plaster with an elaborate trellis design with leaves gave an indication of status. Over-painting on some plaster demonstrates sufficient longevity for redecoration to have occurred. The impression is of well-appointed residential buildings. By the third century considerable dumping overlaid the surviving elements of the buildings which related to the large-scale rebuilding programme of the legionary fortress initiated in the early part of the second century, which may have not been completed until the early third century. Little evidence was found indicating activity after the third century. Small finds of significance include a complete jet ring, a bone pin showing a hand in profile, and a buckle plate.

e) Abbeyfield House, Regency Mews, Dringhouses, (SE 5861 4969):Footnote ⁴⁴ excavations undertaken in 2022 uncovered agricultural land-management remains dating to the late first to third century a.d. Fields laid out in a grid pattern were established in the second century and respected the line of the nearby southern approach road to York. A timber cask-lined well contained palaeoenvironmental remains indicating a damp open ground or grassland. A copper alloy coin with Domitian a.d. 85) was found. The presence of a large amount of second-century white slipware flagons in the well indicate this water source was being accessed by people occupying roadside buildings at the neighbouring 42–50 Tadcaster Road site, where vessels of this type were also found. By the mid-third century, the buildings had been demolished and maintenance of the field boundaries had ceased.

f) A1237/B1224 Wetherby Road Roundabout (SE 5588 5146):Footnote ⁴⁵ by the late Iron Age, a pastoral landscape had become established, with open grassland sub-divided by ditched enclosures. A continued exploitation of a spring accessed by these features is evident from maintenance of the watering-holes during the transition to the Romano-British period. By the mid-Roman period the watering holes had silted up and fallen out of use. South-east of the watering hole was a ring-ditch enclosure with an east-facing entrance, likely used as an animal stockade. Some materials were very likely locally sourced by the community themselves, such as the wood used for wattle linings and perhaps a turned wooden bowl. Specialist products originating from elsewhere included a small selection of locally produced Roman oxidised wares, while regional imports are represented by Millstone Grit rotary querns, the raw material most likely sourced from either the Pennines or Peak District. Wider trade networks are indicated by fragments of lava quern from Germany and a sherd of Central Gaulish samian ware. These items were almost certainly sourced from York.

g) 105–111 Micklegate (SE 5980 5150):Footnote ⁴⁶ the site was located within the civilian settlement, the colonia, on the southern side of the Ouse. The earliest phase of activity is dated to the second/third century a.d., comprising a timber building and beam slots and at least two hearths. This building was demolished, possibly in the early third century, and replaced by a new arrangement that may have included a room where livestock was kept. During the third century there was some dumping of industrial material, possibly to raise the floor level for the construction of a new domestic structure, probably a high-status town house. Evidence for this new building comprised a sequence of floor and occupation surfaces, including an opus signinum floor and painted plaster. Hearths were also found within this building. Demolition deposits suggest the structure was demolished after the third century. A rectangular clay and cobble platform were found to the west of the floor surfaces. Cut into the top of the platform was a flue and rake-out pit or collapsed oven, dating to the late second to third century. A line of repurposed Roman masonry was also found, possibly supports for a raised floor to the north-west of the opus signinum floor layers, which also dated to the late-second to third century. The latest Roman activity consisted of a tiled hearth and possible smelter, dumping and occupation deposits, dating to the fourth century. Significant finds included a jet ring, bone pin with hand detail, glass bracelet, gaming dice and tokens and antefix with human mask detail.

(3) Aldborough, Roman town (SE 4414 4678):Footnote ⁴⁷ excavation was completed in the area previously opened in 2019–22 that had revealed part of the Roman street (EW1), late and post-Roman buildings and a blacksmith's workshop. The aim of the work was to characterise the development of the town, in particular finding evidence for early and late activity, as well as how this area of the town was used in relation to buildings on the geophysics and the warehouse excavated in 2018. Work in 2023 further clarified the character of the Roman building sequence and provided new evidence for the earliest phases of the site. This represented a phase of land clearance preparatory to building, with a probable date for that this activity of c. a.d. 70+. The excavation also obtained new information about the date of the layout of the street grid. A review of the evidence for the establishment of the street (EW1) that forms the southern limit of the trench (sectioned in 2021–22) now indicates that this was also established in phase 3A. The pottery from this phase indicates a date probably in the late first century, and certainly before c. a.d. 120. This may suggest a slightly earlier date than previously suggested for the layout of the town's street grid, although confirmation of this awaits an analysis of the samian ware. An alley established in Period 3A continued in use, with evidence of resurfacing into Period 3B. To the south, between the alley and the street, the lowest level excavated in this zone revealed the first phase of a blacksmith's shop with associated material dumped to the north of the alley. Beam slots associated with structures of this phase were revealed on either side of the alley, although full plans of the buildings were not comprehensible. Associated pottery suggests a date of c. 120–160 for this phase. Period 4D, with associated pottery dated to the early third century, represented the final phase of smithing in area to the south of the former alley with the survival of a smithing hearth and replacement beam slots for buildings. In addition to the excavation, further geophysical survey was completed in the vicinity of the town, filling a gap in previous coverage of the landscape to the south-east of the amphitheatre. This gradiometer survey work revealed evidence for a complex of enclosure ditches associated with a farmstead set on the ridge overlooking the low ground to the east.

EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE

(1) Brough on Humber, (Petuaria) (SE 93947 26882):Footnote ⁴⁸ three trenches were opened: DD enlarged the trench begun in 2021–22 at the northwest corner the Burrs Playing Field, out of the Scheduled Area, DE continued the trench opened in 2022 in the garden of 30 Welton Road, and DF in a new trench in the neighbouring garden of 6 Wrygarth Avenue. In trench DD the sections cut across the ramparts in 2022 were continued as far as possible down to the natural sand and the sequence initially proposed in 1934 excavations was confirmed. The earliest features were post-holes and sleeper beam-slots to support the rampart. Sufficient charcoal from the beam-slots survived for radiocarbon dating. The rampart contained pottery from the late first and early to mid-second centuries. There was a surprising amount of animal bone and oyster shell and large snail shells, many of which had been pierced, suggested that these had formed part of the diet. The ‘sand’ rampart was succeeded by one largely comprising clay with laminated layers. The ‘clay’ rampart had been placed on a layer of flat limestone blocks. Finds included an almost complete folded beaker. At some stage the clay rampart had been cut back and faced with a stone wall. The wall had been criss-crossed by 1934 trenches to try to find an internal corner turret. An alignment of in situ stones likely to be the remains of the north-western wall of the internal turret. This was parallel to an alignment of stones at the east side of the trench. A major discovery in terms of the defences was the foundations several courses high of a D-shaped bastion projecting from the north-east corner of the main wall, similar to those added at each side of the north gate excavated at Brough House (fig. 15). The shallow foundations and construction techniques resemble those in some of the Saxon Shore forts. In trench BF the Roman road surface was excavated. The cambered surface of large stones overlay a layer of clay, with an earlier gravel surface below. In Trench BE more Roman pottery including the whole profile of a samian bowl was found in the same black deposit at the south-east corner of the trench which had produced much pottery, bone and oyster shell in 2022. This is likely to be a ditch fill, but waterlogged conditions made it difficult to determine its dimensions. A further layer of silty clay and peaty material in the northern section of the trench yielded limestone, antler and other bone fragments. A head from a pipeclay figurine was found. This may portray Apollo or else a Roman emperor as it was wearing a diadem resembling those on later Roman coins. Other items recovered included part of the hinge from lorica segmentata, and several coins including a worn as of Hadrian and Constantinian issues.

FIG. 15.

Brough on Humber. Trench DD looking south during excavation. Note the bastion foundations in the bottom left of the photograph. (© Peter Halkon)

ROTHERHAM

(1) Whiston, Worrygoose Lane (SK 45650 39100):Footnote ⁴⁹ evaluation trenches on 18.7 ha identified three potential foci of activity within a surrounding field system. The earliest features were a series of ditches that correlated with a ‘brickwork’-type system (a grid-like pattern with long parallel and short cross boundaries), three enclosures and a trackway. The assemblage was mid-/late Romano-British in date and was largely composed of utilitarian coarsewares. A second-century copper brooch was recovered from the northern enclosure, while a fragment of quern stone was recovered from the eastern enclosure. A small number of ditches, gullies and pits remain undated, due to a lack of datable material. The environmental evidence shows a moderate potential for the preservation of charcoal and charred remains at the site, although these occur in low concentrations. This is uncommon in South Yorkshire, where Romano-British rural sites tend to yield limited quantities of artefacts.

CHESHIRE

(1) Crewe, Radway Green Business Park (SJ 77600 53950):Footnote ⁵⁰ an archaeological strip was undertaken to the south-west of the Business Park. The earliest remains comprised two boundary ditches and 14 pits, 12 of which formed a cluster. Pottery from the ditches and several of the pits indicate they were in use during the second century a.d. A quern fragment and environmental samples provide evidence of crop-processing activity. Waterlogged remains from a pit indicate that the local environment comprised wet/rough grassland and woodland. Two post-medieval boundary ditches were also exposed and appeared to respect the Romano-British enclosure. The finds were limited but provide dating for almost all of the features.

LINCOLNSHIRE

(1) East Halton, Land off Skitter Road, (TA 1456 2147):Footnote ⁵¹ an evaluation revealed 131 linear features, likely representing boundary ditches and enclosures, as well as 17 pits or post-holes. Many of the features appear to align with the results of previous survey work, with activity focused mostly within five settlement areas and a sixth possible area at the northern edge of the site. Material culture was associated with small farmsteads, dating to the Iron Age and Roman periods, as well as evidence of metalworking and textile production.

(2) Gate Burton–Cottam, Gate Burton Energy Park and Grid Connection Corridor (SK 84748 83644; SK 84725 82501 to SK81642 78707):Footnote ⁵² an evaluation across two areas: the Gate Burton Energy Park comprised of 710 ha located east of Gate Burton, Lincolnshire and the route of the associated grid connection corridor crossed a 370 ha parcel of land between the energy park and Cottam Power Station in Nottinghamshire. A total of 131 of the 936 excavated trial trenches contained archaeological features with Romano-British activity dominating in both evaluation areas. The largest concentration of features was recorded in the energy park area, where ditches, gullies, furrows, pits, spreads, intercutting features and possible structural remains were identified. Such features correspond to a dense complex of rectilinear enclosures identified by an earlier geophysical survey and probably represent a rural farming settlement. The enclosure ditches were relatively substantial and shifts in their alignments may indicate multiple phases of activity. The large artefact assemblage was dominated by pottery, ceramic building material and animal bone. Heat-affected pottery and ‘wasters’ highlight the potential for pottery production in this area. Two other areas of probable contemporary activity were also identified and contained areas of settlement comprising rectangular enclosures. The presence of a Romano-British field system was also indicated by a group of ditches. The largest concentrations of Romano-British features identified along the grid connection corridor comprised largely of ditches and gullies. A large rectangular enclosure was identified, as were field ditches and trackways extending to the north and west. Such features suggest a rural farming landscape and probably relate to a series of rectilinear enclosures identified by geophysical survey and aerial photographs. All features date to the first to fourth centuries a.d.

(3) Horncastle, Land off Mareham Road (TF 2680 6901):Footnote ⁵³ an excavation revealed the eastern half of a sub-rectangular enclosure, with the western part exposed in the 1990s. An eastern extension to the enclosure was also identified, with evidence suggesting both were primarily used for holding livestock, although a small possible settlement area was noted in the north-east corner. The enclosure produced artefacts of Iron Age to mid- to late third-century date.

(4) Sleaford, a) Land off Bonemill Lane, (TF 0814 4690):Footnote ⁵⁴ an evaluation revealed a total of 26 features, comprising small undated pits, gullies and shallow drainage features. Ditches from two different areas are dated to the Iron Age to Roman period, based on pottery and tile.

b) Land at Sleaford Moor Enterprise Park, Pride Parkway (TF 07383 47212):Footnote ⁵⁵ a project ongoing since 2020Footnote ⁵⁶ revealed evidence for Iron Age and Roman field systems as well as Roman structural evidence. The results of the latest excavations from 2021 and 2022 include further enclosure and boundary features, including ditches that enclose an area of industrial activity, remnants of stone and post-built structures, a metalled surface, and a watering-hole. The industrial activity consisted of lime kilns and a possible corn dryer. Roman burial activity was also exposed in the form of inhumations, cremations, and an unusual horse burial with its rear legs folded back towards the head.

(5) Wragby, Land off Horncastle Road (TF 1405 7766):Footnote ⁵⁷ an excavation was undertaken in summer 2021. In Area 1, industrial activity was identified in the form of two tile kilns, thought to be in use in the late-third to fourth centuries. The kilns were both rectangular, north-west–south-east aligned, distanced 11 m apart. The kilns appeared to be used for most likely local production, manufacturing primarily tile, brick and tegula, as well as box flue, imbrex, and possibly also bessalis for a pilae stack, probably for use in a relatively high-status building nearby. Among the large quantities of tiles various impressions and imprints were made including palm impressions, giving insight into the tile manufacture techniques, and other interesting imprints included a child's footprint, and animal paw and hoof prints. Area 2 of the site revealed ring ditches associated with pits and postholes bounded by a large enclosure ditch enclosing a settlement.Footnote ⁵⁸ A mid- to late Iron Age date is suspected.