Excavations at Whirlow Hall Farm, Sheffield Volunteers excavating the Roman layers in Trench 1. ARS Ltd Report No. 2017/54 OASIS ID - archaeol5-283312 Date: April 2017 Compiled By: Dr Clive Waddington with Pauline Beswick, Dr Roger Doonan, Caitlin Halton, Elise McLellan and Jessica Sheppey Archaeological Research Services Ltd Angel House Portland Square Bakewell Derbyshire DE45 1HB Tel: 01629 814540 Fax: 01629 814657 [email protected] www.archaeologicalresearchservices.com Checked By: Dr Nick Hodgson Excavation at Whirlow Hall Farm, Sheffield Excavation at Whirlow Hall Farm, Sheffield ARS Ltd Report 2017/54 April 2017 © Archaeological Research Services Ltd 2017 List of Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 7 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 10 2. METHODS ................................................................................................................. 14 3. EXCAVATION ............................................................................................................ 15 4. RADIOCARBON DATING ........................................................................................... 50 5. FINDS ........................................................................................................................ 53 Pottery ..................................................................................................................... 53 Coarse Stone ............................................................................................................ 74 Chipped Lithics ......................................................................................................... 79 Copper Alloy ............................................................................................................. 83 Furnace Materials, ferrous metal and glass ............................................................ 85 6. GEOCHEMICAL SURVEY .......................................................................................... 102 7. PALAEOENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS AND CONSERVATION ASSESSMENT ........... 112 8. DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................ 118 9. REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 128 10. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND STATEMENT OF INDEMNITY ................................. 134 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................... 135 Appendix I. Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI) ............................................. 136 Appendix II. OASIS Form ........................................................................................ 156 1 Excavation at Whirlow Hall Farm, Sheffield List of Figures Figure 1. Location of Whirlow Hall Farm ......................................................................... 12 Figure 2. Whirlow Hall Farm estate showing areas surveyed by geophysics, areas fieldwalked and the location of the excavation trenches. .............................................. 13 Figure 3.Plan showing the results of the geophysical survey for Hall field and the location of Trenches 1-4. The white band running through the centre of the field and the enclosure is an area of ‘no data’ due to the presence of a wire fence at the time the field was surveyed. .......................................................................................................... 15 Figure 4. Excavation of the initial section across the northern segment of the enclosure ditch showing the original cut for the first phase ditch (scale = 0.5m graduations). ...... 17 Figure 5. North facing section of ditch (F009), looking south (scale = 0.5m graduations). .......................................................................................................................................... 18 Figure 6. Post-excavation view of irregular pit F045 with stone packing (scale = 0.5m graduations). .................................................................................................................... 18 Figure 7. Half-section view of steep-sided pit F048 (scale = 0.5m graduations). ............ 19 Figure 8. View of pit F048 after full excavation showing the horizontal sandstone slab positioned in the centre of the pit at its base (scale = 0.25m). ....................................... 19 Figure 9. Half-section view of shallow irregular pit feature (F053) (scale = 0.5m graduations). .................................................................................................................... 20 Figure 10. Plan of Iron Age features ................................................................................ 21 Figure 11. Section across shallow ditch (F057) in Trench 1, underlying the stone- founded building (scale = 0.5m graduations). ................................................................. 23 Figure 12. Section across shallow ditch (F057) in Trench 3 showing lens of burnt soil and charcoal (050) overlying the sandstone bedrock which is also encountered at shallow depth here (scale = 0.5m graduations). ........................................................................... 23 Figure 13. Roman Phase of occupation in Trenches 1, 3 and 4 ....................................... 24 Figure 14. Roman phase in Trench 1Figure 15. Trench 1 section drawings from Roman period features. ............................................................................................................... 25 Figure 16. Trench 1 section drawings from Roman period features. .............................. 27 Figure 17. Plan of Trench 3. ............................................................................................. 28 Figure 18. Section excavated across the construction slot (F026). A roman pot sherd base is visible in the section (scales = 0.5m graduations). .............................................. 29 Figure 19. Aerial photograph showing the construction slot (F026) and perimeter ditch termini after excavation (west is towards the top of the picture). ................................. 30 Figure 20. Pre- and post-excavation views of post hole (007). ....................................... 30 Figure 21. Excavation of the initial section across the northern segment of the enclosure ditch showing the phase 2 fill, and the top of the sandstone walling (011) on the inner edge (right hand side) of the ditch (scale = 0.5m graduations). ...................... 31 Figure 22.Tumbled sandstone slabs within the upper ditch fill of the northern terminus (003) exposed during excavation (scale = 0.5m graduations). ........................................ 32 Figure 23. The northern ditch section (F003) in Trench 1 under excavation showing the lower Iron Age fill (020) and upper Roman fill (003). The stone revetment wall is shown to the right, with tumble from the wall visible in the Roman fill of the ditch. The 2 Excavation at Whirlow Hall Farm, Sheffield continuation of the stone revetment wall and tumbled stone can be seen in the background (scale = 0.5m graduations). .......................................................................... 33 Figure 24. North-facing section of ditch (F009), looking south. ...................................... 34 Figure 25. View of the stone-filled pit (F018) with pink (burnt) stones in its fill emerging below the metalling layer (012), looking west ................................................................ 35 Figure 26. Post-excavation view of pit (F018) looking west ............................................ 35 Figure 27. Half-section view of shallow pit feature (F055). ............................................. 36 Figure 28. Post-excavation view of posthole F059 looking west (scale = 0.25m). .......... 37 Figure 29.View south-west across internal floor surface (023) with three surviving in situ sandstone flags at its northern edge next to the foundation wall (scale = 0.5m graduations). .................................................................................................................... 38 Figure 30. Roman foundation wall (F006) and in situ sandstone flags set into a beaten earth surface (F023). ........................................................................................................ 39 Figure 31. View of the metalled surface (F005) emerging after initial excavation looking across the entrance causeway with the northern ditch section during excavation on the left. ................................................................................................................................... 40 Figure 32. View of the surviving area of metalled surface (058) between the wall of the stone-founded building (F006) to the left and the perimeter ditch revetment wall (F011) to the right (scale = 0.5m graduations). ............................................................... 40 Figure 33. Trench 2 .......................................................................................................... 41 Figure 34. Pre-excavation photograph of Trench 2 looking east showing the shallow western linear ditch (F014) running across the centre of the trench immediately beyond the ranging poles (scales = 0.5m graduations). Note the vague darker stain, parallel with F014, about 4m beyond