NHER 3460 (Monument record) - Roman metal working debris and pottery sherds, Saxon and medieval pottery sherds

SEE NHER 66511 FOR ALL FINDS RECOVERED FROM THIS SITE and recorded from 2022 ONWARDS. See [1].
A. Beckham (HES), 6 December 2022.

1958. West and north of St. Michael's Church. Source [2] reports Roman sherds and iron slag (not seen by NCM). Thickest between Petticoat Lane and Church Wood (west of church) which is locally known as Foundry Field. Cropmarks here on NCM map (from Fairey?) could be natural.

Site visited by E. Rose (NAU) 15 July 1975. Foundry Field under corn, north area under potatoes; nothing visible on either. Source [1]'s own card dates pottery to the 3rd to 4th century, as Context 1.

29 October 1982. Ironslag over almost all field; dense in places, particularly close to church and above peat. Few pottery sherds.
R. Silvester (NAU), 29 October 1982.

November 1982. Field Observation.
Metal-working debris is divided into four concentrations: Context 2, at 6718 1184 (25m northwest to southeast by 6m, spread to southeast 15 to 20m); Context 3 at 6729 1186 (20m northwest to southeast by 10m, spreading downhill); Context 4 at 6718 1172 (20m southwest to northeast by 13m southeast to northwest) and Context 5 at 6714 1177 (20m diameter; not much slag).
R. Silvester (NAU),19 November 1982. Amended by A. Beckham (HES), 6 December 2022.

Section north of church in 1983 was absorbed into county number NHER 19168.
R. Silvester (NAU) believes this plotting may have been a mistake anyway. Petticoat Drove, bounding site on west, is said by farmer to be composed solidly of 'cinders'. Is this Roman slag, or more recent clinker? Farmer says source [1] told him the Drove was an 'ancient Roman track'.
R. Silvester (NAU), May 1983.

1989-90. Further work carried out on these sites during the Fenland evaluation project. The work involved checking the location of the slag concentrations and obtaining samples from each.
A dossier has been prepared for HBMC. Copy in file for site NHER 17286.
M. D. Leah (NAU) August 1990.

Some of the material discovered by R.Silvester (NAU) at Context 1 has been reidentified as Middle Saxon and medieval pottery. E. Rose (NAU).

For full details of wares, flint types etc see Fenland Folders

Map by source [1] detailing 1996 fieldwalking of area has `iron slag and late Roman pottery' written across this field, but nothing mentioned in the text, which is filed under NHER 19168.
E. Rose (NLA), 9 February 1999.