NHER 68870 (Monument record) - Roman, potentially medieval and undated remains

April-May 2024. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site.
The nineteen trenches excavated revealed numerous ditches and a number of pits, with the finds recovered suggesting these remains were primarily associated with Roman and medieval phases of activity.
Evidence for earlier activity was limited to a small assemblage of Neolithic/Bronze Age worked flints and eight Iron Age pottery sherds. Most of this material was either unstratified or likely to be residual within later features – the one possible exception being three Iron Age sherds recovered from an otherwise undated linear feature at the eastern edge of the site.
A moderate amount of Roman pottery (172 sherds) was recovered, along with a small number of probable tegula (roof tile) fragments and a single Roman coin. The bulk of the Roman pottery came from a group of north-to-south and east-to-west aligned ditches in the southernmost part of the site, with smaller assemblages also recovered from a number of similarly aligned ditches to the north. The largest single assemblage came from a pit in the central part of the site, which also produced the bulk of the Roman tile fragments and part of a small fired clay bead. The pottery from this feature was of late Roman (3rd- to 4th-century) date, as was a notable proportion of the material recovered from the main group of ditches. Other finds recovered from the features of probable Roman date included iron nails, fragments of fired clay and a small quantity of animal bone. Samples taken from the fills of Roman and potential Roman features proved to be quite productive, with several found to contain moderate or abundant quantities of charred cereal grain (predominantly wheat) and cereal chaff was also present within a number of the assemblages. This material is likely to represent waste from late-stage cereal processing taking place at or close to a settlement.
There was little evidence for significant post-Roman activity, although small quantities of medieval pottery were recovered from a number of features, including a north-north-west to south-south-east aligned ditch and several possible pits in the westernmost part of the site.
Numerous features produced no dating evidence, including several pits, a possible post-hole and the majority of the ditches. The most notable of the undated features was a pit in the western part of the site, a sample from which was found to contain an apparently monocrop assemblage of charred barley grains (likely to represent a fully processed, final product).
The small assemblage of other unstratified finds recovered comprises additional Roman and medieval pottery sherds, a post-medieval coin and a number of other metal objects, including a Roman or medieval lead pot mend, post-medieval buttons, a cufflink and thimble and undatable lead casting waste.
There was little obvious trace of an east-to-west aligned trackway shown crossing the southernmost part of the site on the Ormesby Tithe Map (S1), the former line of which is also evidenced by cropmarks and soilmarks visible on aerial photographs (NHER 8668). Although the one trench that coincided with its line did reveal two east-to-west aligned ditches these lay to the north of the line suggested by the cropmarks and were both of probable Roman date.
Information from draft report. Final version awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 16 January 2025.