John Moore Heritage Services

Archaeological work for the car park and associated landscaping involved recording of part of a small late Iron Age settlement that originated in the first century BC and continued into the early Roman period.  During the later Roman period the focus of activity shifted slightly and flourished well into the fourth century AD.  Two cremation burials were found, including one associated with an indented beaker from outside of the region, possibly from Wiltshire.  Of some significance was the discovery during explosive ordnance clearance of several Roman coins some 400m to the south of the focus of the settlement.  The location of the discovery is in a slight valley, close to where a spring may have been, raising the possibility that the coins were votive offerings.  The coins found in this area may be associated with a place of special significance, which in turn may be linked to the settlement.

200 m to the east of the late Iron Age and Roman settlement was the precursor.  An enclosed early-middle Iron Age settlement lay directly under part of the site of the new complex. This settlement was probably a farmstead for an extended family group or a small collection of families. The remains had been severely damaged by medieval ploughing.  No traces of buildings remained and only part of the enclosure ditch was traceable.  The enclosure has been estimated as covering an area of 0.25-0.35 ha.  The remodelling of the entrance way could suggest one of two things.  Either the farmstead was in existence over a relatively long time or that the site was abandoned for a while and the enclosure ditch was redefined on resettlement.  The latter case is known from other similar sites. 

While no remains of buildings survived locations for such were postulated on the evidence of concentrations of artefacts in the lower ploughsoil and top of the underlying material coinciding with ‘blank’ areas between groups of grain storage pits. The presence of these pits suggests that the economy of the farmstead was based primarily on agriculture rather than livestock.  The form of entrance into the enclosure appears to back this up as the terminals of the enclosure ditch turned inwards (below).  Outward turning terminals are more useful for controlling animal movement.

The new main building covering c. 4.35 ha is about 15 times the size of enclosed farmstead, which was situated towards the bottom left of the building (see Home Page).