DORSET DIGGERS COMMUNITY ARCHAEOLOGY GROUP Kitton Lane, Nether Compton, Dorset Assessment Report on an Archaeological Excavation By Christopher John Tripp MA PIFA Kitton Lane,Sherborne,Dorset Assessment Report KITTON LANE, NETHER COMPTON, DORSET ASSESSMENT REPORT ON AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION BY CHRISTOPHER JOHN TRIPP MA PIFA COVER ILLUSTRATION: EXCAVATION OF TRENCH 1 2015 Dorset Diggers Community Archaeology Group Kitton Lane, Sherborne, Dorset 1 Kitton Lane,Sherborne,Dorset Assessment Report Kitton Lane, Nether Compton, Sherborne, Dorset Archaeological Excavation and Assessment of Results CONTENTS SUMMARY.............................................................................................. p. 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..............................................................................p. 4 BACKGROUND......................................................................................... p. 5 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES.............................................................................p. 7 METHODS................................................................................................ p. 8 RESULTS.................................................................................................. p. 9 FINDS...................................................................................................... p. 11 DISCUSSION AND INTERPRETATION..........................................................p. 15 RECOMMENDATION FOR FURTHER WORK...............................................p. 17 APPENDIX 1 LOCATION MAP............................................................... p. 18 APPENDIX 2 MAGNETOMETRY SURVEY............................................... p. 19 APPENDIX 3 POTTERY ANALYSIS..........................................................p. 20 APPENDIX 4 BONE ANALYSIS............................................................... p. 21 APPENDIX 5 SOIL SAMPLE ANALYSIS................................................... p. 22 APPENDIX 6 TECHNICAL DRAWINGS...................................................p. 23 PLATES.................................................................................................... p. 24 BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................ p. 29 2 Kitton Lane,Sherborne,Dorset Assessment Report Archaeological Excavation and Assessment of Results SUMMARY It was at the instigation of a local resident that the excavation at Nether Compton was carried out. Elizabeth Adam had asked the Bath & Camerton Archaeological Society to undertake a geophysical survey to see if there were any features associated with the finding of a hoard of over 22,500 low denomination coins in 1989. The discoveries at Nether Compton will be important for the area of Sherborne and Dorset as a county and be of value for research into Roman activity in this part of 1st century southwest Britain. Very little has been excavated in this area and this site can be added to the larger works being carried out at nearby sites around Yeovil and north Dorset. A substantial ditch and internal features were found in the first trench and although the area uncovered by the excavated trench was small this ditch produced data of a quality and quantity to be of value for comparative research. The internal features were two postholes and a pit commonly found on many other sites, the pits being interpreted as flat bottomed grain storage pits, which tend to not produce artefacts. It is difficult to say if the postholes were contemporary with the pit, as they were discrete features, but one posthole was in the centre of the pit, which has also been excavated and recorded elsewhere. This would indicate that perhaps some other activity should be associated with these features, if they are contemporary. A second feature was looked at further north. A smaller ditch was found that produced only two flints but was of interest in itself in that at the base of the ditch a small ‘causeway’ was uncovered that may indicate how these ditches were constructed. The artefacts, mainly pottery, bone and building materials, indicate that the immediate area may have been a rich one, with the material being of high quality. So even though the area of excavation was limited it is possible to answer some questions to give us an insight into the lives of the people living and passing through Nether Compton at the time of the Roman Empire taking control of the British Isles in the 1st century. 3 Kitton Lane,Sherborne,Dorset Assessment Report Acknowledgements This programme of excavation was permitted by the landowner, Mr Roger Foot and with the cooperation of the farmer, Mr Greg Kellaway, to whom we give thanks. Dr John Oswin’s 2011 survey and report was made available by kind permission of Bath & Camerton Archaeological Society. The excavation was carried out and supervised by the author and members of Dorset Diggers Community Archaeology Group (DDCAG). The author would like to thank all who worked on the site and off it, to make this project a success. DDCAG would like to thank all the specialists who gave their time and expertise as well as adding text to this report. DDCAG would also like to thank all those who in the village of Nether Compton who helped out and visited the village hall for talks and open days, as well as the village hall coordinators for use of the venue. Finally DDCAG would like to thank the Heritage Lottery Fund for their support. Contributors Rachel Hall – pottery analysis; Martin Fielding – bone analysis; Ellen Simmons – sample analysis; Astrid Walden – artefacts drawings; Tara Fairclough – maps, sections and plans. Archive Location Paper Archive: The Red House, 12 Cattistock Road, Maiden Newton, Dorset DT2 0AG CD Archive Copies: Dorset County Council; Dorset County Museum Artefacts: Sherborne Museum 4 Kitton Lane,Sherborne,Dorset Assessment Report 1 BACKGROUND (edited from John Oswin’s report and Richard Hood’s research) 1.1 Introduction 1.1.1 Between July and October 2014 the Dorset Diggers Community Archaeology Group carried out an archaeological excavation on the field east of Kitton Lane, Nether Compton, Dorset (ST 602 171). The excavation was carried out on behalf of the landowner Mr Roger Foot and with permission of the farmer Mr Greg Kellaway. 1.1.2 Magnetometer surveys were carried out by John Oswin in 2009 and 2011 in the fields west and east of Kitton Lane and it was in the east field where DDCAG carried out an investigation of the features indicated by his results. Excavation was targeted to focus on the areas of particular archaeological significance. 1.2 Site Location, Topography and Geology (Appendix 1) 1.2.1 Nether Compton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It lies within the West Dorset administrative district, and is situated 3 miles west of Sherborne and 3 miles east of Yeovil in Somerset [see Appendix 1]. 1.2.2 The site consists of two fields to the east of Nether Compton, either side of Kitton Lane, a rough metalled track which branches off the lane from the village through Stallen to the A30. Kitton Lane rises up a narrow ridge, through a deep hollow way, emerging at field level at ST602172, up a narrow ridge to a high plateau 130m to 145m OD. 1.2.3 The Tithe map of 1839 shows the west field was named Higher Kitton and the east field has become an amalgamation of smaller fields. 1.2.4 To the east of the site is a deep narrow re-entrant and to the west the ground falls away to lowlands, except in the area of John Oswin’s survey, where the west field juts out on a promontory in the direction of the village. This commands wide views toward Yeovil, Pen Mill and the settlement at Lyde Road, as well as Glastonbury to the northwest. 1.2.5 The site sits in the area of the Jurassic belt, with the Middle and Upper Lias giving way to Inferior Oolite geology. Yellow Sands are found in the lower ground and Cornbrush on the higher. 1.3 Archaeological Context (general) 1.3.1 The name Compton probably derives from the Anglo-Saxon ‘comp’, meaning a narrow valley or combe, and ‘ton’, meaning settlement. This place had three royal charters from Saxon Kings, granting land to the Church in Sherborne. In the 5 Kitton Lane,Sherborne,Dorset Assessment Report Doomesday Book, Compton was a prosperous agricultural community, although it is not clear as to where this settlement was. As the names suggest, Over Compton is on higher ground than Nether Compton; separate villages were referred to in 1163 as ‘Superior’ and ‘Parva’. 1.3.2 Nether Compton is first mentioned with Over Compton as Contone in the Doomsday book as held by Sherborne Abbey. Reference to the Victoria History of Dorset, Hutchins History of Dorset and other Dorset histories do not give much information about early Compton providing more on the Church, interesting buildings and landowners. However there is mention of ‘Lynchets a on SW slope 1 ½ miles NE of the Church with six terraces’ and ‘Lynchets in Home Copse 600 yards S of the Church’. A passing reference to Athuros may relate to nearby South Cadbury and the Arthurian legend of Camelot. 1.3.3 The records of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society mention surface finds of worked flint and Romano-British and mediaeval pottery being made on Charlock Hill one mile to the north east of Nether Compton. Other similar finds were found SW of Charlock Hill in the parish of Nether Compton, Romano-British finds being found at the marl pit Map Ref. 61541832. A child’s skull was excavated from the face of the of the marl pit by