NHER 68801 (Monument record) - Roman and Late Saxon field system, Burgh Castle

April 1993. Trial Trenching.
Excavation of three evaluation trenches in advance of extension of a churchyard.
Several ditches on a variety of alignments (east-west, north-south, northwest-southeast, southwest to northeast) were recorded in each of the trenches and were sectioned in several places. Due to the shallow nature of two features in particular it was felt likely that these had previously been truncated and their date remains uncertain. The only artefacts recovered from the ditch fills were one sherd of Roman pottery and one sherd of possibe Late Saxon Thetford ware. Three fragments of lava (possibly from a quern) were recovered from the top of a ditch.
Three small post holes or stake holes were also recorded but no dating evidence was recovered.
Two possible copper alloy buttons, one potentially medieval and the other potentially post-medieval, were recovered from the overburden.
See unpublished report (S1) and published article (S6) for further information. The results of this work are also summarised in (S2).
These remains were previously recorded under NHER 13227.
E. Rose (NLA) 25 October 1993. Amended H. Hamilton (HES), 18 November 2024.

June 1994. Excavation.
The area of the proposed churchyard extension was fully excavated.
The excavations confirmed that the ditches observed during the evaluation formed a series of field boundaries belonging to two phases of activity: one Roman and one Late-Saxon. The finds assemblage from these features was described as quite small and homogeneous, likely primarily the result of natural silting, and therefore primarily represent only the most intensive period of occupation and very broad dating.

No dating evidence was recovered from the earliest ditches, wich could be Romano-British or earlier.
The Roman phase of activity is represented by ditches primarily on a north-south alignment, with some evidence of re-cutting and individual alterations of the layout of enclosures resulting in a general trend towards moving from larger to smaller enclosures. All dating evidence is 3rd-4th century. A clay and flint oval feature identified as an oven was recorded in the northwest corner of the site. It was quarter sectioned and yielded evidence of an internal floor affected by heat. No pottery was recovered from the sealed deposits and the exact function of the oven is uncertain, but Roman greyware and fine ware was recovered from the vicinity. Other features attributed to this period include a single large oval pit containing Roman greyware in its lowest fill and a group of post holes (four to the south and two to the north) forming part of a rectangular structure measuring roughly 2.75m by 1.30m interpreted as a possible short-term shed or barn.

Two groups of Late Saxon features were identified. These notably contained large quantities of residual Romano-British brick and tile, grey wares, and fine wares along with Thetford-type ware and some fired clay with wattle impressions. The earliest Late Saxon feature was a single ditch on a northwest-southeast alignment. This was cut by a second phase of Saxon activity represented by a group of three north-south ditches in the western portion of the excavated area.

See unpublished report (S3) and published article (S6) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S4) and (S5).
The associated archive has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.457).
These remains were previously recorded under NHER 13227.
E. Rose (NLA) 23 July 1996. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 27 April 2019. Amended H. Hamilton (HES), 18 November 2024.