ESSEX

(1) Bradwell, Bradwell quarry (TL 83708 20813): a series of droveways of late Iron Age to Roman date crossed the site, several of which featured funnel-shaped entrances at one end and pinched-end entrances at the other, perhaps providing evidence for the controlled direction of movement of livestock. One of these droveways also appeared to mark a boundary line, turning a corner near a cremation burial, suggesting the latter was originally marked on the surface in some way. The edge of a contemporary enclosure, which contained evidence for occupation in the form of pits and a large quantity of artefacts in the backfill of its ditches, was partially uncovered near the end of another droveway. Other ditches appeared to mark field divisions. The medieval boundaries closely followed the same alignment as the earlier Iron Age and Roman droveways, boundaries and enclosures, which cannot wholly be explained as the result of topography, instead suggesting that later boundaries were influenced by much older relic features in the landscape.Footnote ⁶⁸

(2) Colchester, a) Cymbeline Meadows (TL 97668 26224): an archaeological evaluation (61 trial-trenches) was carried out in advance of a woodland and biodiversity project. The site lies in the late Iron Age oppidum of Camulodunum, and east of the Moat Farm Dyke. Evaluation at the site revealed at least two and possibly four Roman kilns, as well as associated spreads of kiln waste and quarry pits. Along with a kiln previously excavated to the north-east, these are thought to represent the remains of a kiln battery operated in the vicinity of the Sheepen industrial area and are of national significance. A second phase of activity, represented by the remains of at least one building along with numerous cut features, occurred here during the second and third centuries. Further remains only datable to the Roman period more broadly were uncovered, including the possible remains of a further building. A small number of features associated with agricultural activity at the site during the post-medieval and modern periods were also excavated.Footnote ⁶⁹

b) Hedge Drive (TL 97609 23092): an archaeological excavation was carried out in advance of the construction of three new properties. The projected route of the Colchester to Gosbecks Roman road was known to pass through the development site and the excavation area was positioned to uncover the location of the remains of the road as well as any other archaeological contexts. The excavation located the remains of the Roman road, which consisted of four ditches defining two narrow footways on either side of a wide central carriageway. The footways were c. 2.6 m wide and the central carriageway c. 7.6 m across. The roadside ditches were well defined at 0.71–1.01 m wide and 0.29–0.33 m deep. The road surface had not survived.Footnote ⁷⁰

c) Red Lion Yard (TL 99736 25142): archaeological test-pit excavations were carried out to relocate a Roman mosaic previously uncovered during the 1980s and record any damage or disturbance to its surface. In situ remains of the mosaic were successfully located and extensively recorded. It was clear that, despite having gently subsided under pressure from overlying medieval foundations, the mosaic was in sound condition. No additional damage to the mosaic was noted beyond what was already known. The overall extent of what has survived of the mosaic was greater than expected and could well continue underneath Red Lion Yard.Footnote ⁷¹

d) Richard Avenue, Wivenhoe (TM 4549 23344): excavation revealed a middle Iron Age enclosure, recut around the time of the Roman conquest. Both pre- and post-conquest sherds were recovered, the overall character of which is consistent with other transitional assemblages from rural settlements in south-east Essex. Other features included two cremation burials, alongside several shallow pits, ditches and post-holes, although no definite structures were identified. In addition to pottery, notable finds included dumps of fired clay possibly originating from ovens or kilns, as well as whole and fragmented loom weights related to textile-working. Of note was a large copper-alloy nail possibly related to ship-building. Following its abandonment by the middle Roman period, the site seemingly reverted to pasture.Footnote ⁷²

e) St Helena School, Sheepen Road (TL 98841 25793): archaeological monitoring and recording was carried out ahead of the construction of a new school building and associated groundworks. The site is within the late Iron Age/early Roman oppidum of Camulodunum, specifically in the north of the trading depot and quayside at Sheepen. The school grounds also straddle a Scheduled Monument within which are the remains of two Romano-Celtic temples. Although most of the work conducted lay outside of the Scheduled Monument, several likely Roman features, including a possible metalled surface, were noted during this monitoring.Footnote ⁷³

f) Colchester: a hoard deposited in the second century a.d. Contents: 10 Roman denarii: Uncertain Antonine emperor, 1; Uncertain Antonine empress, 1; Uncertain ruler, 8. Excavated by Colchester Archaeological Trust during a controlled archaeological excavation and lifted as a block. Some coins were corroded together. Further conservation will be required for identification.Footnote ⁷⁴

(3) Dengie, Dengie Solar Farm (TL 99103 00536): an archaeological evaluation in advance of a solar farm development revealed a series of concentric boundary ditches within a roughly rectangular area dating to the Romano-British period. The activity may have been evidence of early salt marsh drainage with associated salt-working.Footnote ⁷⁵

(4) Great Chesterford, Land south-east of (TL 5094 4233): a second phase of trial trenching was conducted to help clarify the results of earlier phases of evaluation and geophysical survey on this site beside the river Cam. In keeping with the previous investigations, the fieldwork identified an enclosure system of late Iron Age to early Roman date, and, in one trench, Roman cremation and inhumation burials representing a small cemetery. The burials were accompanied by accessory vessels including samian ware cups, dishes and bowls, and were left in situ pending anticipated future fieldwork. Finds suggest that the main period of activity spans the late Iron Age to later second century a.d. Early medieval finds and features were also found. Activity is concentrated in the north-west of the site and may continue in that direction; it may be bounded by the river Cam to the north-east.Footnote ⁷⁶

(5) Layer-de-la-Haye–Langford, Layer-de-la-Haye to Langford Pipeline (TL 96604 19474 to TL 83366 08796): an archaeological evaluation was undertaken on a 22 km pipeline corridor between the Layer-de-la-Haye and Langford Water Treatment Works. Of the 501 excavated trial trenches, 92 contained archaeological features and deposits, with Romano-British activity apparent in three main areas. Clusters of features comprising ditches, gullies, pits and post-holes represent concentrations of settlement activity which developed from the Iron Age into the Romano-British period. One of the areas appeared to contain structures, enclosures and multiple boundary divisions, many of which lay parallel to one another and suggested an orthogonal arrangement. Environmental evidence from the same area indicated that a variety of settlement practices, including waste disposal, were taking place. The other two areas with concentrated Romano-British activity contained fewer features and are more likely to represent the hinterlands of other known settlements. Again, environmental evidence supports this interpretation with background settlement ‘noise’ represented where soil samples produced results.

The evaluation, together with cropmark evidence and the presence of other known sites in the area, appears to show that there was a developed, intensively exploited late Iron Age and Roman-British landscape with widespread agricultural settlement and associated land use. However, further work may allow for a clearer understanding of how these sites interconnect and how integration and continuation occurred between the Iron Age and Romano-British periods.Footnote ⁷⁷

(6) Maplestead: a hoard deposited c. a.d. 177–8 or later. Contents: 4 sestertii: Diva Faustina I, 3; Faustina II under Marcus Aurelius, 1. For earlier finds of 24 coins, see SF-FC2E14 and PUBLIC-1D19CA.Footnote ⁷⁸

(7) Mistley: a hoard deposited c. a.d. 145–61 or later. Contents: 8 denarii: Titus, 1; Uncertain Flavian ruler, 1; Nerva, 1; Hadrian, 3; Antoninus Pius, 2.Footnote ⁷⁹

(8) Pentlow, Land East of Pentlow Hill (TL 82650 45517): an archaeological evaluation consisted of 53 trenches. The middle to late Iron Age appears to have been the main focus and start of sedentary activity, with ditches present to the west of the site. These ditches potentially formed an enclosure around a low-status agrarian settlement, with additional external ditches suggestive of an associated field-system. A second potential contemporary enclosure formed by a large ditch of middle to late Iron Age date is located to the north, within which was a 9 m roundhouse gully. The presence of wheat, barley, cow, pig and sheep/goat is suggestive of a small mixed subsistence farming community. The enclosure was re-cut during the early Roman period and some of the field-systems were dated to a similar period. This shows some continuity between the Iron Age and early Roman period; however, both the western and northern foci appear to have been abandoned around a.d. 50–70. This abandonment may have been a result of post-conquest activity redefining settlement foci, roadways and boundaries within the area. Finewares and imported wares were all but absent, with a single sherd of samian ware recovered, suggesting only limited integration within the wider Roman Empire.Footnote ⁸⁰

NORFOLK

(1) Brampton, Buxton with Lammas, Marsham, Brampton Roman town (TG 2235 2367): an aerial investigation and mapping survey covered the designated site of the Roman town of Brampton in north-east Norfolk (Scheduled Monument 1003698). The existence of a Roman settlement in the area has been known since the seventeenth century, but it was only in the 1960s and 1970s that aerial photographs, geophysical survey and excavations threw further light on the extent and character of the site.Footnote ⁸¹ The settlement was partially enclosed by a large, polygonal defensive ditch, encompassing some 6 ha. To the south-west of the defended area was an extensive industrial suburb where large numbers of pottery kilns have been identified.

The new survey used a wide range of aerial photographs together with Environment Agency LiDAR data to identify, map, record and interpret features relating both to the town itself and its wider hinterland.Footnote ⁸² The main areas of cropmarks relating to the site, as then known, were mapped from aerial photographs by Derek Edwards in the 1970s.Footnote ⁸³ The new survey drew upon a wider range of aerial sources to comprehensively re-map the town and its wider landscape, adding new information and interpretations. The interconnectedness of the landscape surrounding Brampton is particularly evident along the Roman road that crosses through the south of the project area.Footnote ⁸⁴

(2) Caister-on-Sea, Land at Nova Scotia Farm (TG 5112 1253): the site covered an area of 0.76 ha, north of the silted-up former estuary of the river Yare. The excavations revealed some evidence for c. first-century a.d. late Iron Age to Roman agricultural activity, in addition to fired clay clamp kiln furniture fragments that suggest pottery production took place nearby during the late Iron Age. By the second half of the first century a.d., this site was certainly being used for pottery manufacture. Two kilns, of an unusual type, were constructed one after the other within an enclosure that was likely designed as a windbreak (fig. 25). The structures bear similarity to late third- and fourth-century Swanpool-type kilns, consisting of an oven above a circular furnace chamber which contained two large, central ‘D’-shaped clay pedestals. Kiln bars appear to have rested on the internal pedestals, with their other ends fitted into holes cut into the chamber walls. The kilns did not have flues, the stokeholes being located directly outside the mouth of the furnace chamber. Both kilns were used for production of coarse sandy grey wares. The site is on the north-eastern periphery of a group of early Roman sites in central Norfolk that are known to have produced vessels in these fabrics.

FIG. 25.

Caister-on-Sea. Late first-century pottery kilns, mid-excavation. (Pre-Construct Archaeology)

A series of large clay extraction pits, dated to the late first to early second centuries a.d., were located south of the pottery kilns. They may have supplied raw material for kiln construction and/or the pots themselves. The identified extraction pits continued beyond the limits of the excavation and appeared to represent part of a wider area of clay extraction activity, probably supplying raw materials for a larger-scale industry than is reflected by just the two identified kilns. To the north, a series of narrow ditches were created in the same period and appear to have controlled and directed access to the kilns. Their connection with several large, discrete features of similar date might suggest they played a role in the pottery production process. A metalled surface was uncovered between and around the ditches and may represent the remains of a work area. Other features included a pit, resulting from sand extraction, that was then used for disposal of kiln wasters, and a small clay-lined oven or dryer. Determining if, and in what form, these ancillary features were connected with the adjacent pottery production will form part of post-excavation analysis.

Ceramic evidence suggests the second kiln ceased operation in the late first century. The surrounding features continued in use until the middle of the second century and presumably supported continuing pottery production located beyond the boundaries of the excavation area. Land at Nova Scotia Farm joins a growing number of known early Roman pottery production sites in Norfolk that produced coarse wares to serve the rural population.Footnote ⁸⁵

(3) Caistor St Edmund, Caistor Hall Hotel (TG 2354 0365): work was undertaken in the paddock area within the grounds of the hotel. The paddock lies to the east of the walled Roman town of Venta Icenorum and partly inside the early second-century triple ditch system that encircles the settlement.

At the edge of the paddock within overgrown laurels is the scheduled remains of a flint and mortar 8 m by 9 m building (NHER 9818), previously excavated by Sir Boileau in 1846 (and briefly described in the Journal of the British Archaeological Association of 1847). This was re-investigated in May 2022 which confirmed that no floor level survives, but a scatter of tesserae and roof tile attest to a well-built structure whose form and location (just beyond a track linking the town with an extramural temple) suggest a Roman mausoleum or shrine. The remains were subsequently turned into a Victorian sunken garden folly with all archaeological deposits removed from the interior (fig. 26). More detailed information concerning the 1846 excavation was recovered from Boileau's diaries in the Norfolk Record Office and work is now being undertaken to produce a long-term management plan for the monument.

FIG. 26.

Caistor St Edmund. West wall of mausoleum with Victorian cobbles removed. (Caistor Roman Project/Norvic Archaeology)

Following a full magnetometry survey of the paddock, trial trenching was undertaken in August 2023 on two areas of complex features. A trench within the triple ditch area revealed a possible industrial zone of probable second- to third-century date with a trackway, ditches and a large stokehole for a pottery kiln. Large quantities of vitrified clay kiln lining/shelving and pottery waster sherds were recovered, including a face-pot sherd. Alongside previous discoveries of pottery kilns at the town and further untested magnetometry signals, the evidence is growing for a significant Caistor pottery industry.

Beyond the ditch system to the east, a cluster of pits and shallow post-holes was uncovered, indicating a possible occupation area (fig. 27). Late Iron Age and early Roman pottery from these features may date to a pre-conquest or early post-conquest phase of activity that pre-dates the foundation of the town and further work is planned here for 2024.Footnote ⁸⁶

FIG. 27.

Caistor St Edmund. Iron Age to early Roman pits in Trench 10. (Caistor Roman Project/Norvic Archaeology)

(4) Holme Hale II: a hoard deposited c. a.d. 277–9 or later. Contents: 4 radiates: Gallienus (sole reign), 1; Tetricus I, 1; Uncertain emperor, 2 (one is a fragment).Footnote ⁸⁷

(5) Loddon, Beccles Road (TM 36801 98244): evaluation confirmed the results of an earlier geophysical survey, revealing a relatively large number of boundary ditches concentrated in the central part of the site, and extending southwards. Most of these ditches appeared to relate to an extensive multi-phase system of boundaries, laid out on two principal alignments. Artefactual evidence dates the ditches to the Roman period although a small quantity of middle Iron Age pottery suggests possible later prehistoric origins.Footnote ⁸⁸

(6) Multi-parish, Hornsea Project Three (TG 10487 43745 to TG 21964 02672): excavation was conducted along the onshore export cable corridor between Weybourne on the north Norfolk coast and Dunston to the south of Norwich. Roman settlement encountered to the east of Reepham included enclosures, structures and evidence for crop-processing – in the form of well-preserved corn-driers – while an apparently isolated Roman pottery kiln was found on a site to the north of Saxthorpe. Remains from other periods were also uncovered.Footnote ⁸⁹

(7) South Wootton, Land off Nursery Lane (TF 6397 2304): an excavationFootnote ⁹⁰ in autumn 2022 revealed numerous discrete features dating from the Neolithic to post-medieval periods. Roman archaeology comprised two sub-oval pits and a cluster of post-holes or pits that may represent three sides of a possible rectangular structure, with an internal area of c. 230 m². A total of 27 sherds of pottery, in forms and fabrics typical of the fourth century a.d. in the region, were recovered from features across the site, with the majority from one of the two sub-oval pits. The second pit contained multiple tile fragments including parts of tegulae box flue-tile and possible bipedalis tile from a hypocaust; most were heat-affected, suggesting possible reuse in a secondary context before being dumped.

(8) West Norfolk: a hoard deposited c. a.d. 364–7. Contents: 2 siliquae: a.d. 360–3 (Lyon, 1; Arles, 1). The coins were found in the same area as a previous scattered find bringing the total number of reported coins to 15 solidi and 228 siliquae.Footnote ⁹¹

SUFFOLK

(1) Bacton, Land west of Broad Road (TM 0612 6730): excavation of three small areas within a larger residential development site revealed low-status Roman rural occupation on land just to the east of a Roman road, which appears to have begun in the early to mid-second century and extended into the early third, but probably not beyond.Footnote ⁹²

(2) Barham, Barham quarry (TM 13389 51689): prehistoric and Roman activity was recorded across two new excavation areas of the quarry, in each case demonstrating continuation of features identified during previous phases of fieldwork. Within the strip across the northern edge of the quarry four closely grouped buildings were recorded, comprising two rectangular beam-slot constructions, a four-post structure and a post-hole ring (fig. 28). These represent Iron Age to Roman activity close to a previously recorded Roman ladder settlement.

FIG. 28.

Barham. Aerial view of the buildings. (Cotswold Archaeology)

Along the southern edge of the quarry, away from the main Roman occupation area, the disturbed base of a wood-lined Roman well was recorded close to the lowest point of the surrounding natural topography and where deep colluvial deposits corresponded with an extensive north-east–south-west palaeochannel (fig. 29). This comprised a series of jointed oak planks forming a square lining, supported and reinforced by driven roundwood stakes. The original construction cut had some evidence for a wattle lining, probably to shore up the sides where it cut through loose, sandy gravel deposits, made more unstable by permeating ground water associated with a spring line. Scattered patches of dense heat-altered flint were present within the colluvial deposits immediately around the well. These may relate to small-scale industrial processes being carried out where there was good access to water, but the possible presence of a burnt mound feature beyond limit of excavation cannot be ruled out. Two small cremation groups were identified, one in each excavation area. A cluster of four cremations may be Roman, given their proximity to a pit of that date, while five more scattered examples were likely to be of later prehistoric date.Footnote ⁹³

FIG. 29.

Barham: The Roman well with surviving timbers (1 m scale). (Cotswold Archaeology)

(3) Bramford, Land North of Tye Lane (TM 11023 47293): an archaeological evaluation of 53 trenches revealed four concentrations of archaeological features, referred to here as Areas A to D, with further features recorded in the minimal trenching away from these foci. The archaeological remains in Area A comprised a Romano-British metalled trackway with flanking ditches. Area B identified an area of settlement that was probably occupied from the mid-to-late Iron Age through to the end of the first century a.d. The archaeological remains comprised enclosure ditches, pits, post-holes, possible trackways and a possible ring-gully. Area C revealed Iron Age, medieval and post-medieval archaeological remains. Within Area D there was some evidence to suggest tentatively that there was an unenclosed, middle Iron Age phase of activity, and residual Transition Period material was also found. However, the majority of the enclosure ditches, pits, post-holes, occupation layers and trackways dated to the first century a.d. A small assemblage of second-century a.d. finds including samian ware and Roman tile was recovered from some features including from within a kiln/furnace base. Environmental samples taken suggest that the kiln was not for drying grain and was more likely employed in food production, perhaps baking bread. Occupation of settlement in Area D appears to have continued beyond the abandonment of the settlement in Area B.Footnote ⁹⁴

(4) Chilton, Land north of Acton Lane, Sudbury (TL 88319 43288): excavation was undertaken across two areas. Area 1a revealed the northern half of a farmstead which originated in the late Iron Age and continued into the Roman period, before declining in the third century a.d. It comprised at least three phases of development with features including pits, ditches and post-built structures. Medieval remains were also uncovered. A further phase of work will be completed in 2024.Footnote ⁹⁵

(5) Cookley: a hoard deposited c. a.d. 60–61 or later. Contents: 3 Roman Republican denarii to c. 55 b.c. These coins are addenda to a pre-existing hoard of 79 coins. The hoard now consists of 57 Republican denarii and 22 Imperial denarii.Footnote ⁹⁶

(6) Leiston, Sizewell C power station site MDS4B (TM 46248 65917): a Roman saltern complex (manufacturing salt) and related ‘red hill’ deposits (spreads of briquetage/fired clay) were excavated during mitigation works associated with the power station development. The saltern was located to the south of the Minsmere saltmarsh and would have been close to the high tide mark before land reclamation during the medieval and subsequent periods. It comprised a hearth and separate clay-lined settling tank (fig. 30). Briquetage fragments (broken up clay evaporation pans) were spread throughout the reddish backfill and associated deposits, as was charcoal. Other possible red hills are known in the area, with such complexes normally presumed to be of first- and second-century date along the Suffolk coast.Footnote ⁹⁷

FIG. 30.

Leiston. Roman saltern, comprising a hearth and settling tank (1 m scales). (Cotswold Archaeology)

(7) Long Melford, Land known as Stoneylands (TL 860454; LMD 367): following community test-pitting in 2014 and discovery of a possible floor surface, a small open area excavation revealed a general thin deposit of Roman abraded material representing first- to fourth-century occupation. This covered a flat chalk/gravel yard surface and a building floor of rammed chalk divided by a straight 10 m robber trench. An excavation extension exposed a wide threshold with evidence of a large burnt door post. On sectioning and removal of the trench fill it was found to consist of exclusively large late Iron Age pottery sherds, many of which related to common vessels distributed along the length and depth of the trench, along with a coin of Cunobelin. As well as evidence of burning, a ritually deposited skull of a dog was retrieved from the trench bottom. Evidence of attempts to collect building materials for reuse was also seen.

Recent geophysical surveys and research have indicated the probable existence of an early Roman vexillation fort occupying this general area. Since the Gallo-Belgic Terra Rubra pottery recovered was closely dateable, it is possible that this important rectilinear late Iron Age building was burnt and demolished in a clearance operation to make way for the fort. However, the site was not redeveloped by the Romans and left as an open space.Footnote ⁹⁸

(8) Near Newmarket: a hoard deposited a.d. 49–50 or later. Contents: 5 denarii: Republic, 2; Augustus, 1; Gaius, 1; Claudius, 1. Eight coins dating to Gaius were found previously.Footnote ⁹⁹

(9) Old Newton, Land south of Church Road (TM 05260 62400): an excavation area to the rear of properties on the south side of Church Lane revealed a small pit containing two whole pottery vessels dated to the late Roman period (fig. 31). The vessels were without contents. Examination of carbonised organic residues on their interiors revealed only trace lipids. Both vessels were in a sandy grey ware fabric: a dropped flange bowl and a slack shouldered jar. The jar can be broadly dated to the second to fourth centuries a.d., while the dropped flange bowl is a form of the mid-third to fourth centuries a.d. The deposition of whole pottery vessels without associated funerary remains is comparatively rare in the Roman period but parallels from Suffolk include examples from the environs of Wixoe small town.Footnote ¹⁰⁰

FIG. 31.

Old Newton. The two complete vessels during excavation (0.3 m scale). (Cotswold Archaeology)

(10) Stonham Aspal: a hoard deposited a.d. 54 or later. Contents: 3 denarii: Republic, 1; Mark Antony, 1; Tiberius, 1. These coins are an addendum to an earlier find of six denarii to a.d. 54.Footnote ¹⁰¹