126 of the Society's Transactions for 2008 IRON AGE and ROMANO-BRITISH AGRICULTURE in the NORTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE SEVERN VALE

IRON AGE AND ROMANO-BRITISH AGRICULTURE IN THE NORTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE SEVERN VALE edited by N eil Holbrook ~~ bloorhomes.com Wait rose COTSWOLD ARCHAEOLOGY Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Report No. 6 By agreement with Cotswold Archaeology this report is distributed free to members of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society To accompany Volume 126 of the Society's Transactions for 2008 IRON AGE AND ROMANO-BRITISH AGRICULTURE IN THE NORTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE SEVERN VALE edited by Neil Holbrook PREHISTORIC AND EARLY HISTORIC ACTIVITY, SETTLEMENT AND BURIAL AT WALTON CARDIFF, NEAR TEWKESBURY: EXCAVATIONS AT RUDGEWAY LANE IN 2004-2005 by Jonathan Hart and E.R. McSloy ROMANO-BRITISH AGRICULTURE AT THE FORMER ST JAMES'S RAILWAY STATION, CHELTENHAM: EXCAVATIONS IN 2000-2001 by Laurent Coleman and Martin Watts COTSWOLD ARCHAEOLOGY Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Report No. 6 By agreement wirh Corswold Archaeology rhis reporr is disrribured free ro members of rhe Brisrol and G loucesrershire Archaeological Sociery To accompany Volume 126 of rhe Sociery's Transactions for 2008 Cotswold Archaeology Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Report No. 6 Published by Cotswold Archaeology ©Authors and Cotswold Archaeological Trust Ltd, 2008 Building 11, Kemble Enterprise Park, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 6BQ All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISSN 1479-2389 ISBN 978-0-9553534-3-7 Cotswold Archaeology BAGAR series 1 A Romano-British and Medieval Settlement Site at Stoke Road, Bishop's Cleeve, Gloucestershire, by Dawn Enright and Martin Watts, 2002 2 Later Prehistoric and Romano-British Burial and Settlement at Hucclecote, Gloucestershire, by Alan Thomas, Neil Holbrook and Clifford Bateman, 2003 3 Twenty-Five Years ofArchaeology in Gloucestershire: a review of new discoveries and new thinking in Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire and Bristol, 1979- 2004, edited by Neil Holbrook and John Jurica, 2006 4 Two Cemeteries from Bristol's Northern Suburbs, edited by Martin Watts, 2006 5 Prehistoric and Medieval Occupation at Moreton-in-Marsh and Bishop's Cleeve, Gloucestershire, edited by Martin Watts, 2007 6 Iron Age and Romano-British Agriculture in the North Gloucestershire Severn Vale, edited by Neil Holbrook, 2008 Series Editor: Martin Watts Produced by Past Historic, Kings Stanley, Gloucestershire, GLlO 3HW Printed in Great Britain by Henry Ling Limited, Dorchester, DTl lHD FOREWORD In the last forty years knowledge of the archaeology of the Gloucestershire Severn Valle has increased considerably. A pivotal moment in this process occurred in 1969 when archaeological work associated with the construction of the M5 motorway gave, for the first time, a clear appreciation of the density of sites of all periods present on the claylands. Investigations in the last twenty years in advance of extensive residential developments around such places as Bishop's Cleeve and Tewkesbury have utilised resources out of all proportion to the frantic last gasp rescue work which characterised the M5 project, and the quality of the data retrieved is commensurately better. At Tewkesbury archaeological work between 1991 and 1997 concerned with the construction of the Eastern Relief Road and associated housing developments recovered important information about Bronze Age and Romano-British activity to the south-east of the medieval town. The first site published in this volume enhances the data set reported upon in 2004 in the Transactions, and in particular adds information on the Iron Age and Anglo-Saxon periods not represented in the earlier work. In many ways the work at Walton Cardiff has benefited from the lessons learnt on the Eastern Relief Road, the application of extensive geophysical survey proving to be a particularly effective reconnaissance technique. The next wave of archaeological work associated with the major new housing developments destined for the Severn Vale as a consequence of the recently endorsed South-West Regional Spatial Strategy should also build on past achievements, and the sites around Tewkesbury form a benchmark against which to compare and contrast future discoveries. The second site reported on in this volume was a rare chance to investigate the archaeology of pre-Regency Cheltenham. Slowly the evidence for Romano-British activity beneath the later town is coming to light, although the practicalities of excavating within a thriving modern community are very different to those at green field sites such as Walton Cardiff. The St James's site certainly posed many logistical challenges (for instance the initial evaluation trenches had to be dug through several metres of made ground imported during the construction of the railway station in 1847), but despite the difficulties the results were worthwhile. It is now surely only a matter of time before the settlement to which the excavated Romano-British fieldsystem relates comes to light. We can therefore be confident that much more will be learnt about the field archaeology of the Severn Vale in northern Gloucestershire in the next few years. Neil Holbrook ChiefExecutive, Cotswold Archaeology December 2008 iii CONTENTS Foreword ................................ .. ... .............. ........... ... .......... ... ..................................... iii Contents ...... ..... ... ........ .. ... .................. ........ .... .. ............ ... ... .. ............ .......... ................. v Abstracts .......... .................................... .... .................................................................. vi Prehistoric and Early Historic Activity, Settlement and Burial at Walton Cardiff Introduction ................ ............... .......... ...................................................................... 1 Excavation Results ... ............... .............. .... .. .. ... .. ....... ................................... ......... .. .... 5 The Finds .. .. ....................................... .. .............. ....... .. .............................. ....... ......... 21 The Biological Evidence .................................................................... ........................ 48 Discussion .................... .................. .. ........... ............................................................. 68 Acknowledgements ... ................................... ... .......................................................... 77 Bibliography ............................... ....................................................................... ....... 77 Romano-British Agriculture at the Former St James's Railway Station, Cheltenham Introduction ..... ................. ....... ............... ........................................................ ... ...... 85 Excavation Results ............ ........ .............................. ........... .... ................................... 88 The Finds ... ......................................................................................... .. .......... .. ......... 94 The Biological Evidence ............ ............................. ....... ........................................ .. 100 Discussion .................................... ..................................... ................... .. ............ .. ... 102 Acknowledgements .. ................................... .. .. ................................ ... ... .................. 103 Bibliography .... ........................... ... ... .............. ............ ........... ................................. 103 V BRISTOL AND GLOUCESTERSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL REPORT NO. 6 ABSTRACTS Prehistoric and Early Historic Activity, Settlement and Burial at Walton Cardiff Excavatio~s in 2004-5 at Rudgeway Lane recorded significant remains dating between the mid 2nd millennium BC and the 6th century AD. In the Middle Bronze Age two parallel ditches, c. 40m long and 28m apart, were dug. Their interpretation is not straightforward, possibilities include the quarry ditches of a plough-levelled earthen long barrow; two sides of an enclosure or part of a fieldsystem. In the Middle Iron Age a small ditched enclosure, c. 25m long by 20m wide with a south-east facing entrance was established on a separate part of the development site. This was superseded in the 1st century AD by an unenclosed settlement comprising a number of roundhouses surrounded by individual drainage ditches which was in turn replaced in the 2nd century AD by a rectilinear ditched enclosure c. 105m long by 50m wide with a trackway on its southern side. The enclosure was sub-divided internally to create areas which may have been used for the breeding and folding of stock, the storage and processing of crops and habitation. Structures included a roundhouse, a well and a drying oven. The enclosure continued to be used until the late 3rd century at least, but by then most of the ditches had largely silted up. The latest phase of settlement, which probably dates to the earlier 4th century, was on a much reduced scale from that in the preceding centuries. It is likely that the enclosure was used as part of a mixed farming economy, although pastoralism was probably the dominant activity. Three neonatal burials were associated with the period of unenclosed settlement and at least a further six inhumations were interred in a variety of features

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