A Romano-British Site at Shedfield, Hants
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Proc. Hampsh. Field Club Arckaeol. Soc. 45, 1989, 25^-1 A ROMANO-BRITISH SITE AT SHEDFIELD, HANTS By AG HOLMES with contributions by N D BALAAM and G SOFFE ABSTRACT virtually impossible and all trial trenching had to be done manually. Most features were 0.5 to The partial excavation of a ht-2nd century AD Romano-1.0m below present ground level and this British ditched enclosure is described, together with severalcouple d with the geological nature of the site — ancillary features. The extent of the excavation was limitedheav y clay with gravels - made digging condi owing to the number and close proximity of large trees andtion thes in dry and wet weather very arduous. fact that the site forms part of the garden and grounds ofRegrettabl a y the acidic nature of the soil has private residence. Little direct evidence for associateddestroye d all traces of any organic material buildings survived. However, a large amount of occupation that might have otherwise survived frorft the material, primarily consisting of pottery, tile and daub-like material was obtained. The publication of this site is Romano-British period. considered important for two reasons; firstly it is one of theTh e site notebooks, plans and excavated few rural Romano-British sites to be excavated off the chalkmateria l have been deposited with Winchester downlands in Southern Hampshire, and secondly the potteryMuseum s Service under Ace No ARCH 3651. forms a valuable corpus of early Romano-British materialA forn interim report of the excavations was an area in which little published material exists. published in the Hampshire Field Club Newsletter It is suggested, in the absence of other published local(SofT e 1985), which is now superseded by this evidence, that this site might be connected with the supposedreport . vicus at the junction of Roman road routes 420 and 421. INTRODUCTION THE SITE (Fig 1) During the construction of a colonnade on the The site (NGR:SU 5530 1355, approx 40m tennis court in the grounds of Shedfield House OD) lies at the western edge of the grounds of on 1st September 1910, Romano-British pot Shedfield House. It is bounded by Sandy Lane, tery was unearthed at a depth of about 0.6m by the tennis court and the kitchen garden. A Professor J S Phillimore, uncle of the present Roman road (Margary route 420) passes owner Cdr R A B Phillimore RN (retd). In approximately 150m to the east and about 1984, the now disbanded South Hampshire lkm to the south-west is the site of the Archaeological Rescue Group (SHARG) was Romano-British pottery kilns in Hallco'urt invited by the owner to conduct excavations Wood excavated in 1960 (Cunliffe 1961). Two with a view to establishing what archaeological km to the south is the supposed vicus and features, if any, existed in the grounds adja junction of Roman road routes 420 and 421 cent to the tennis court. near Coldharbour or Park Place on the out Excavations led by the author were carried skirts of Wickham. In addition, 3.75 km to the out at weekends from early 1984 until the end west is the site of the Roman building in the of 1987. The nature of the site, which is grounds of Fairthorne Manor on the banks of covered by many trees, severely limited the the River Hamble. The site therefore, can be excavations. Access for machinery was seen to occupy a position very close to several 26 HAMPSHIRE FIELD CLUB AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY SALISBURY WINCHESTER PETERSFIELD • BISHOPS WALTHAM SOUTHAMPTON ROWLANDS CASTLE THE NEW FOREST BOURNEMOUTH Fig 1. Shedfield: location plans of site. HOLMES: A ROMANO-BRITISH SITE AT SHEDFIELD. HANTS 27 important Romano-British occupation sites during the laying out and construction of the and lines of communication. tennis court. The alignments of F2 and F5 did The geology of the site is composed largely not coincide and it was concluded that they of Bagshot pebble beds and Bracklesham clays were two different features. Unfortunately the and sands. Most of the site is covered with area in which they might have been connected about lm of sandy soil mixed with clay and could not be excavated because of the pres pebbles, much of which appears to have been ence of large tree roots. re-deposited, probably during levelling of the Further trial trenching in and around the site when the tennis court was constructed. areas of the tennis court only produced two Unfortunately the tennis court has been level other features. A pit like feature, F7, was found led into the natural west facing slope of the in Area J on top of which was a single fragment grounds and this has truncated several of sarsen stone. On balance this feature was features and probably completely obliterated considered to be natural, probably caused by a others. tree, there being no other evidence to suggest it was artificial. In area FF a small hearth, F14, was uncovered but disappointingly no other THE EXCAVATION (Fig 2) features were located in the immediate area. In an attempt to discover whether there Some trial excavations had been carried out by were any ancillary features connected with the the owner and others prior to 1984. These were terminal of Fl, such as a gateway, further trial largely confined to Area B and had uncovered trenches were established in Area D. Two the terminal of ditch Fl. These excavations slot-like features, F4 and F8, were uncovered, were the focal point from which all subsequent whose fill was devoid of any evidence to con trial trenching emanated. firm whether they were natural or man-made. The line of Fl was excavated westwards and On balance the probability is that they were it was established that the ditch terminated in natural, tree roots being the most likely cause. Area B in what appeared to be a large post hole Trial trenching in Area Q revealed another or pit, the fill of which amongst other things, ditch, F9, the line of which was established in a contained large amounts of pottery and daub. similar manner to that of Fl. In areas Q, R, Y The eastward course of the ditch was traced by AA, BB, CC and HH it can be seen to run cutting several trial sections across its projec roughly parallel with Fl, while in Area T/U it ted line. Some sections were fully excavated, turns through approx 45° to run northward others merely observed as a ground plan to around the end of Fl. Trial trenches in Areas confirm its course. The ultimate length and V, W and Z established its line in that direct direction could not be confirmed because of ion but it appeared to terminate under a large the inability to project its line accurately and tree, trial trenches around the base of which carry out trial trenching in dense undergrowth failed to show any sign of its re-emergence or near to large trees. Several speculative trial any other associated features. However, trenches were dug at various points in the during the severe storm of October 16th 1987 hope of picking up the ditch but to no avail. the tree was blown down and in the root A small gully, F2, was found crossing ditch system was observed the ditch terminal Fl in Area H. In an attempt to ascertain the together with a small oven-like feature, F25. length and direction of F2 a trial Area K was Several small features were found in the opened close to the southern side of the tennis turn of ditch F9. F10 appeared to be a small court. Another gully, F5, with a larger section post hole that had been cut through by the than F2 was uncovered. Further trial trenching ditch. Further excavation of F10 could not be in Areas M and N established the line of F5. undertaken owing to the proximity of a large Beyond Area N it was apparent that F5 had tree. Fll appeared to be another natural fea been truncated by the levelling carried out ture probably caused by tree roots, there being 28 HAMPSHIRE FIELD CLUB AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETV \ SHEDFIELD HOUSE lOOm SZS ,^, r~> < ^ • ^ • >• v. 0 e^n^CTzor, c __, W v.v TENNIS COURT C,EE - AREAS | | s VOID AREAS {^) - TREES ,4] O(|^/.ii:::f--:::|»^ MB - OBSERVED SANDY LANE Fig 2. Shcdficld: site plan. nothing in its fill to indicate otherwise. In the the garden but yet again the presence of trees outermost corner of the ditch the natural clay prevented further investigation. had been fired hard to an orange-red colour In a final attempt to determine the line of around a small hearth F13. the ditches and to locate any associated Further trial trenching on the outside of occupation features several speculative trial ditch F9 in Area S revealed another small gully trenches were dug at a number of locations which was found to terminate, by accident or within the grounds which are shown on the site design exactly in the middle of ditch F9. In the plan. No additional evidence was obtained. opposite direction it was traced to the edge of HOLMES: A ROMANO-BRITISH SITR AT SHEDF1ELD, HANTS 29 Description of the Principal Excavated Features (Figs implies that the hearth was constructed and used by 2-4; microfiche Figs 8-12) an itinerant smith. No evidence of a bank was seen adjacent to Fl or Ditches Fl and F9 F9 and there is no evidence that the ditches were defensive; they probably served as a boundary or an enclosure.