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Castleshaw 2014 Excavation Report

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Castleshaw 2014 Excavation Report Archaeological Evaluation Redefining Roman Castleshaw Project Client: Friends of Castleshaw Roman Forts Technical Report: Vicky Nash, John Roberts & Norman Redhead Report No: 32/2014 0 Site Location: The study area (centred at SD 99880 09633) is located within the Scheduled Ancient Monument boundary for Castleshaw Roman Forts (SM 30359, HA 1017837). The site is bounded to the North and East by Dirty Lane, to the South by Dry Croft Lane and to the West by Cote lane. NGR: Centred at SD 99880 09633 Internal Ref: (CfAA 32/2014) Proposal: Archaeological Evaluation Planning Ref: N/A Prepared for: The Friends of Castleshaw Roman Forts Document Title: Redefining Roman Castleshaw Project Document Type: Evaluation Report Version: Version FINAL Author: Vicky Nash BA Hons, PG Dip. Position: Senior Archaeologist Date: January 2016 Signed:………………….. Author: John Roberts BA Hons. Position: Senior Archaeologist Date: September 2015 Signed:………………….. Approved by: Norman Redhead BA Hons, MIFA, FSA Position: Director of Heritage Management Date: January 2016 Signed: Copyright: Copyright for this document remains with the Centre for Applied Archaeology, University of Salford. Contact: Centre for Applied Archaeology, University of Salford, LG 18-25 Peel Building, The Crescent, Salford, Greater Manchester, M5 4WU Telephone: 0161 295 4009 Email: [email protected] Disclaimer: This document has been prepared by the Centre for Applied Archaeology, University of Salford for the titled project or named part thereof and should not be used or relied upon for any other project without an independent check being undertaken to assess its suitability and the prior written consent and authority obtained from the Centre for Applied Archaeology. The University of Salford accepts no responsibility or liability for the consequences of this document being used for a purpose other than those for which it was commissioned. Other persons/parties using or relying on this document for other such purposes agrees, and will by such use or reliance be taken to confirm their agreement to indemnify the University of Salford for all loss or damage resulting therefrom. The University of Salford accepts no liability or responsibility for this document to any other party/persons than by whom it was commissioned. 1 Contents SUMMARY Page 4 1. INTRODUCTION 5-7 1.1 Project Background 1.2 Personnel 1.3 Monitoring 2. THE SETTING 8-10 2.1 Location 2.2 Topography &Geology 2.3 Designations & Current Land Use 3. METHODOLOGY STATEMENT 11-15 3.1 Excavation Strategy 3.2 Excavation Methodology 3.3 Recording Methodology 4. HISTORICAL & ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND 16-21 4.1 Historical Background 4.2 Archaeological Background 5. TRENCH 1 22-63 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Results 6. TRENCH 2 64-92 6.1 Descriptions 6.2 Discussions 6.3 Excavation Drawings 7. TRENCH 6 93-108 7.1 Descriptions 7.2 Discussions 7.3 Excavation Drawings 8. TRENCH 7 109-117 8.1 Descriptions 8.2 Discussions 8.3 Excavation Drawings 2 9. TRENCH 8 118-127 9.1 Descriptions 9.2 DiscussionsExcavation 9.3 Drawings 10. ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONCLUSIONS 128-134 11. SOURCES 135-136 12. ARCHIVE 137 13. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 138-139 APPENDIX : FINDS REPORT END PAGES Introduction Kirsty Whittall 1. Lithics Andrew Myers 2. Samian Ware Felicity Wild 3. Romano-British Pottery Ruth Leary 4. Fired Clay and CMB Dr P. Mills 5. Glass Artefacts Christine Howard-Davies 6. Metal Artefacts Christine Howard-Davies 7. Palynology University of Durham 8. Chemical Analysis Simon Hutchinson 9 Conclusion Kirsty Whittall 3 Summary The Centre for Applied Archaeology was commissioned by ‘The Friends of Castleshaw Roman Forts, to undertake a programme of archaeological excavation at the site of Castleshaw Roman Forts (SM 30359, HA 1017837). The site of Castleshaw Roman forts is located within an area of enclosed pasture just to the west of the present hamlet of Castleshaw in the historic parish of Saddleworth, on the west side of Dirty Lane, Delph, Oldham, Greater Manchester, (centred at SD 99880 09633). The site comprises a turf and timber auxiliary fort dated c AD 79-95, replace by a turf and timber fortlet dated c AD105-120. These guarded the main trans- Pennine highway linking the legionary fortresses at Chester and York. The research rationale for the trenches had previously been set out in the ‘Castleshaw Excavation Strategy’ document. Scheduled Monument Consent (SMC) was granted on 21st January 2014 (Ref: S00075769). The excavation took place over a 4 week period during July 2014 and involved a large number of volunteer archaeologists from the local and wider community, led by a small professional team from the University of Salford. The Excavation Strategy identified 8 trenches of which 5 were excavated in 2014 within the context of the SMC. The investigations focused on exposing and re-excavating old archaeological trenches, with some previously undisturbed areas cleaned and sample excavated. The recent excavations have demonstrated that the archaeology is far more complex than previous excavators have led us to believe. The July 2014 excavations were essentially a large scale evaluation of the Roman fort site. This work has demonstrated that multi-phased, stratified Roman archaeology survives across much of the site. The excavations have found several phases of Roman activity, suggesting that the fort was rebuilt at some stage and that after its final demolition the land was re-used by the Romans for other purposes before and during the occupation of the fortlet. There is evidence for a possible annexe on the eastern side of the fort with an absence of defensive ditches, a probable service road and building remains. The finds assemblage fits in with the date range for military occupation presented by previous studies ie. late 1st- early 2nd centuries AD. Pottery analysis suggests the presence of a kiln but its location is currently unknown. Palaeo-environmental work concludes that the fort environs had some cereal production (spelt wheat) and herb rich pasture, with oak being the main timber used on the fort construction. The evidence points to the fort being adapted from the standard layout and function of an auxiliary fort. Our understanding of the site has been significantly enhanced and will inform a revised research framework to reflect the new discoveries. One of the trenches investigated the cottage site at Husteads Farm. This yielded a late medieval sherd of green glaze pottery, extending the historical narrative back by two hundred years and more, and confirming the suspicion that Castleshaw hamlet has medieval origins. The early cottage stone foundations were substantial. There were a number of sherds of 17th century pottery as well, pre-dating the 18th century rebuild by John Scholefield and demonstrating longevity of the settlement. 4 1. Introduction 1.1 Background The Roman army built two successive forts on the promontory at the head of the Castleshaw valley, guarding the main cross-Pennine highway between the legionary fortresses of Chester and York. It is thought that Agricola established the first fort in AD 79. This was built in turf and timber and held a standard infantry cohort of around 500 men. It was short-lived and appears to have been abandoned in the AD mid-90s before the site was re-occupied by a much smaller fortlet at around AD 105. This fortlet, also of turf and timber, overlies part of the Agricolan fort site and held no more than 60 men. It may have been a commissary fort, a centre for organising and conducting supplies or it served as the command centre of a standard fort, with most of the troops outstationed to guard roads across the Pennine valleys. The fortlet was abandoned in the AD mid-120s. One of the fascinating aspects of Castleshaw is that it was a short-lived site and was not re-built in stone like most other Pennine forts. Over the last 100 years and more there have been a succession of archaeological investigations at this evocative site, the largest scale being the complete exposure of the fortlet by the Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit, followed by landscaping and presentation. However, the larger and earlier fort had received much less attention and suffers from poor conditions and limited interpretation. Renewed interest in the site has led to the formation of the Friends of Castleshaw Roman Forts to take forward investigation and future management, and work with partners to engage the local and wider community with this significant heritage site. The Friends have established a website which contains pdfs of most of the published and unpublished works on the Roman Forts. This wealth of material can be accessed at http://www.castleshawarchaeology.co.uk. In July 2014 the Centre for Applied Archaeology was commissioned by ‘The Friends of Castleshaw Roman Forts, to undertake a programme of archaeological evaluation at the site of Castleshaw Roman Forts, Dirty Lane, Delph, Greater Manchester (SM 30359, HA 1017837). The works formed part of the Heritage Lottery Funded ‘Redefining Roman Castleshaw Project’, which aimed to further assess the remains of the earlier, larger Agricolan fort which was poorly understood and difficult to interpret. The project re- excavated several old excavation trenches within the northern half of the fort, previously excavated by Bruton in 1907-8, Rosser in the 1950’s and Thompson in the late 1950s and 1960s. New techniques and a better understanding of the Roman military in Britain meant that the project would allow a much better interpretation of the archaeological remains and the lost or poorly reported excavation results from previous digs would be to a great extent recovered. 5 Figure 1.1: Aerial photograph of Castleshaw Roman Forts, looking north. The project was also designed to include members of the community in every aspect, including the excavations, and as such volunteers were accommodated every working day on site.
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