Monument record MLI53155 - Late Iron Age Farmstead, Dunholme

Summary

The remains of a likely late Iron Age farmstead, at Ryland Road, Dunholme.

Type and Period (5)

  • (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC? to 42 AD)
  • (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC? to 42 AD)
  • (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC? to 42 AD)
  • (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC? to 42 AD)
  • (Middle Iron Age to Late Iron Age - 400 BC? to 42 AD)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Full Description

A possible prehistoric enclosure and hut circle was identified on aerial photographs. {1}{2}{3}{4} Evidence of a late Iron Age farmstead was identified in June 1997, during a watching brief for the installation of a new water pipeline along Ryland Road. A series of eight ditches were recorded, in most cases directly aligned with the cropmarks previously identified to the west of the road. The features comprised four single ditches, thought to represent enclosure boundaries, and a pair of double ditches marking a drove way. Carbonised plant remains, including cereal grains and chaff, were identified in soil samples taken of the ditch fills, and, along with the recovery of cattle, sheep, and possibly horse bones, suggests the site functioned as a farmstead. Pottery recovered from the ditches was mostly late Iron Age in date, though a single Romano-British pottery sherd was also recovered (see PRN 54229), suggesting that the farmstead likely continued in use after the Roman conquest. {5}{6} Evidence to support the presence of a late Iron Age farmstead in this location was revealed in 2013, during an evaluation of land at Ryland Road, Dunholme. Seven trial trenches were excavated and a large number of ditch, pit and post-hole features were recorded in all but one of the trenches. A series of shallow ditches, all aligned on a north-east to south-west axis, were thought to correspond to the remains of the former drove way previously recorded at the northern end of the site. A number of other ditches were also excavated; these were interpreted as former boundary ditches, used to demarcate enclosures and areas of different function within the farmstead. Several of these ditches were re-cut, or were truncated by other, later ditches, suggesting that the site was occupied for a relatively long period. Iron Age pottery was recovered from many of these features; the assemblage comprised a wide range of fabrics and forms, though the majority of the sherds could be attributed to the later Iron Age. A quantity of animal bone was also recovered from many of the features, and, although being highly fragmentary, the assemblage was thought to be dominated by remains of large mammals, particularly cattle, though fragments of sheep/goats, pigs and a single horse bone were also identified. {7}{8}

Sources/Archives (8)

  •  Index: SMR FILE. DUNHOLME. TF 07 NW:B,1983, DES.
  •  Index: OS CARD INDEX. DUNHOLME. TF 07 NW:18,1962, DA.
  •  Aerial Photograph: HAYES, J.T.. 1953-87. RCHM. LM 11/1-2,1959, .
  •  Map: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1992-1996. National Mapping Programme. TF0276:LI.544.4.1-2,1994, .
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology (Lincoln). 1997. Welton to Dunholme Water Pipeline. PCA site code: WD97.
  •  Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology (Lincoln). 1997. Welton to Dunholme Water Pipeline. LCNCC 56.97.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeological Services Ltd. 2014. Land at Ryland Road, Dunholme. PCAS site code: RRDE 13.
  •  Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeological Services Ltd. 2014. Land at Ryland Road, Dunholme. LCNCC 2013.165.

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Location

Grid reference Centred TF 0195 7967 (219m by 205m) Estimated from sources
Civil Parish DUNHOLME, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (2)

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Record last edited

Mar 21 2021 8:35PM

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