Monument record MLI34140 - ROMANO BRITISH SETTLEMENT SITE, BOURNE
Summary
ROMANO BRITISH SETTLEMENT SITE, BOURNE
Type and Period (8)
- SETTLEMENT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- ARTEFACT SCATTER (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- SALT WORKS (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- POST HOLE (Roman - 100 AD to 199 AD)
- FENCE ? (Roman - 100 AD to 199 AD)
- DITCH (Roman - 100 AD to 275 AD?)
- ENCLOSURE (Roman - 100 AD to 409 AD?)
- PIT (Roman - 100 AD to 199 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Full Description
Twenty sherds of Romano-British pottery were recovered during fieldwalking carried out as part of the Fenland Project. The site also produced evidence of prehistoric activity and sparsely distributed evidence of salt-making, in the form of briquetage fragments (Fenland Survey Site Ref.: BOU28). The site lies at around 3m above sea level. {1}
An archaeological excavation was carried out in August to September 2007, in advance of the installation of a new watermain. The excavations, which took place in linear trenches extending along the southern and eastern boundaries of the field, revealed evidence of Romano-British activity, ranging in date between the late first and early third centuries AD. The earliest phase of activity identified by the excavator was characterised by postholes and pits, with a low frequency of associated dating material, which, it was speculated, might indicate agricultural rather than domestic settlement activity. The greatest concentration of activity associated with this phase occurred at the northern end of the eastern trench, in the form of a probable fence, represented by a north-east to south-west alignment of postholes, and cluster of postholes relating to a probable building of indeterminate form and function. Other features tentatively assigned to the earliest phase of activity were a group of three postholes (all undated) forming part of a probable rectangular structure at the southeastern corner of the excavations, and various pits (mostly undated), as well as a sinuous gully (undated) in the same general area. The early activity appears to have been succeeded by a rectilinear pattern of land division defined by a series of generally north-south and east-west aligned ditches (a small quantity of associated pottery indicates a second century date for this development), while a group of gullies recorded at the northern end of the eastern trench may be interpreted as representing slots for the sill beam foundations of a timber building or buildings (the gullies were aligned with the system of ditches). The latest phase of activity on the site (early to late third century AD?) is characterised by a series of south-west to north-east aligned ditches, possibly defining larger landscape blocks than the previous set of enclosures. There was no evidence of significant archaeological activity post-dating the latter phase. {2}{3}
Sources/Archives (3)
- <1> SLI1079 Bibliographic Reference: Hayes, P. P. and Lane, T. W.. 1992. The Fenland Project No.5: Lincolnshire Survey, the South-West Fens. BOU28.
- <2> SLI12504 Report: Lindsey Archaeological Services. Nov 2008. Bourne to Guthram Water Main: Archaeological Excavation. BGWM07.
- <3> SLI12505 Archive: Lindsey Archaeological Services. Nov 2008. Bourne to Guthram Water Main: Archaeological Excavation. LCNCC 2007.109.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred TF 1118 2196 (229m by 229m) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | BOURNE, SOUTH KESTEVEN, LINCOLNSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (2)
Related Events/Activities (2)
External Links (0)
Record last edited
Mar 21 2021 8:35PM
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