Monument record MLI60537 - Roman Settlement, Ermine Street, Navenby

Summary

Roman settlement on Ermine Street, Navenby.

Type and Period (17)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

Navenby lies halfway between Lincoln and the Roman defended town of Ancaster. It is an extensive ribbon development lining the west side of Ermine Street, and probably the east also. It has been suggested in view of its position that it is a Roman posting station, although extensive finds and archaeological fieldwork suggest that it is a small Roman town, with origins extending back possibly as far as the Neolithic period. {1}{2}{3} The Roman settlement was first recognised in 1965 when, after an initial discovery of Roman pottery, the undeveloped areas between the modern village and Ermine Street were walked by local residents. Extensive scatters of Roman finds and building materials, including stone and stone footings, were discovered and reported to the City and County Museum. Much of this area has now been developed and a considerable amount of information about the settlement has been identified and recorded. The finds from field-walking include grey ware pottery, Samian and Nene Valley colour-coated ware. Strap-ends dating to the first century, with military associations were recovered, and a first century ‘rams head’ patera handle terminal (CL5.78). Other finds include coins, weights, brooches (including a penannular brooch of post-Flavian date, a Langton Down brooch dating to the first century, and a second century head stud brooch, with red enamel inlay), spindle whorls, harness fittings, plumb bob, mirrors, bronze bowl fragments. Further details of these finds are held in the parish file in CCM reports. {4}{5}{6}{7} In 1991 land at the junction of High Dike and Chapel Lane was field-walked. Concentrations of pottery and ceramic building materials were located close to Ermine Street, with lesser amounts extending westwards. {8} Subsequently, approximately 3.7 hectares of land on the west side of Ermine Street, immediately south of Chapel Lane, was surveyed by gradiometry in 1994, and trial excavations showed that Romano-British stone buildings, built in several phases, with mortar floors and painted plaster walls, lined the frontage in the third and fourth centuries. The remains were well stratified, and sealed earlier phases of activity, including enclosures, parts of which were summarily investigated. The main thrust of the Roman occupation seemed to be the latter part of the third century, extending into the fourth, although it appears to have continued into the fifth century, after which the focus of settlement seems to shift westwards towards the limestone edge. {9}{10}{11} Two Romano-British pits were identified during a watching brief south of Chapel Lane (SK 9917 5757) PRN 60537a. The most northerly of these pits contained what appeared to be finds clusters. On the north side there was a group of disarticulated animal bones and Romano-British pottery sherds, including a second century mortarium. The other group of finds consisted of second-third century pottery and horse vertebrae. Also in the fill of the pit was a footring base, fourth century Oxfordshire red colour-coated beaker and infant human tibia. The southernmost pit was smaller, and contained a single sherd of RB pottery. An L-shaped ditch alignment (enclosure?) was also recorded. It was orientated north-south and then east-west, and was V-shaped in section. It is not clear if the ditch terminates or whether the feature continues below the depth of the excavation. It is possibly mid-late second century from one dateable pottery sherd. {12}{13} During a watching brief, significant quantities of limestone rubble were recorded sealing the surface of Ermine Street (PRN 60638), thought to be demolition rubble from Romano-British structures. Two pits containing rubble suggest that there were structures nearby (SK 9940 5720) PRN 60537b, which were subsequently demolished or abandoned. Pottery from one of the pits suggests a fourth century date for this. The nature of the rubble suggests that it may be left over from robbing of the Romano-British building stone. The absence of dating material from the end of the Roman occupation to the 18th century in the pits attests to a lack of activity in the area during this period. The lack of tile fragments from the rubble layers would suggest the use of mainly organic roofing material. {14}{15} In 2001, ten trenches were placed to the west of Ermine Street within the ‘south’ field (SK 993 573) PRN 60537c, to investigate anomalies highlighted by the 1996 geophysical survey. These trenches confirmed the presence of well-preserved Romano-British stone structures adjacent to Ermine Street and a minor road extending westwards from it. At the junction of Ermine Street and the minor road, an unusual polygonal structure was identified. The morphology of the structure suggests that it did not have a domestic function, and it could even represent the remains of a temple or shrine. {16}{17} Geophysical survey and trial trenching centred on (SK 9910 5728) PRN 60537d, recorded a series of features, including a substantial extensive feature resembling a sunken metalled track-way A section through these revealed a curving series of circular holes in the base of a slot-like feature. No finds were recovered, making it possible that these are natural features. However, two pit features appeared to respect their alignment. {18}{19}{20} A watching brief in 2001 recorded further features relating to the settlement. Several east/west aligned ditches, perpendicular to Ermine Street, are thought to be property boundaries, perhaps for garden plots, while several pits are thought to be rubbish pits. A possibly plank-lined well at approximately (SK 9929 5741) PRN 60537e, provides the first evidence for a local water supply for the settlement. A wall and rubble spread were both also identified, which is thought to be a boundary to the rear of the settlement, while the rubble spread is thought to be a demolition deposit indicating an unknown structure to the south-east of the watching brief area. {21}{22} There is evidence to suggest that in the later Romano-British period, stone structures encroached over the west side of Ermine Street. {23}{24} The extent of the Romano-British roadside settlement has never been established, although current evidence suggests that its northern limit does not extend more than 200m north of Chapel Lane. Geophysical survey and subsequent trial trenching north of Centurion Close (SK 9915 5790) revealed no evidence of the stone buildings that occur to the south. To the south of the Chapel Heath development (SK 9935 5703) PRN 60537f, Romano-British pottery has been identified (former PRN 60786). {25}{26}{27} 81 sherds of Romano-British pottery were found widely distributed across the field at (SK 9900 5730) PRN 60537g, close to Grantham Road, and there was also a Roman coin. There was also a geophysical survey across the site which, together with the pottery, identified the north east corner of the site as being most likely to have some archaeological interest. This area may represent a progressive tailing off of settlement material alongside Ermine Street to the north-east and east. {28}{29}{30} A watching brief was undertaken during ground-works at Chapel Heath (SK 9922 5732) PRN 60537h, prior to development. Evidence of two structures was uncovered. These are dated from the 2nd to 4th centuries implying continued use. A ditch was uncovered which has dating evidence from the 1st to 4th centuries through the deposits suggesting that it was in use through all this period. There were two other walls covered by a demolition layer, which were possibly two more structures. One of the structures was dated by a sherd of pottery to the late 2nd century. A mid 3rd century onwards ditch was uncovered, and also various finds not associated with any features, including 3 coins, a copper alloy mount, a fragment of a finger ring, a button and an unidentified object. {31}{32} During a watching brief at Chapel Heath (SK 9920 5725), three linear features and two pits were identified (PRN 60537i). These features were undated but it is thought that they may represent the boundary ditches of fields lying outside the main area of the Romano-British settlement which were abandoned and allowed to silt up naturally after the settlement and road went out of use. {33}{34} During a watching brief on land at Chapel Heath (SK 9920 5726), several features of possible Roman date were identified (PRN 60537j). It is possible that several ditches represent phases of a boundary, although the common association of these features is tentative. Another ditch may represent a later phase of Romano-British occupation (possibly 3rd century), and may represent a property or field boundary. A possible construction slot was also seen, although it is sufficiently far from the main area of Roman settlement that it seems unlikely to relate to that, and it did not contain datable material. {35}{36} A linear feature was revealed during a watching brief at land at Winton Gardens, Navenby (PRN 60537k). It contained late Iron Age to early Roman pottery. {37}{38}

Sources/Archives (38)

  •  Unpublished Document: White, H.. 1987. Response to planning application for residential development in Navenby. -.
  •  Index: Lincolnshire County Council. Sites and Monuments Record Card Index. SK 95 NE: N, Q, V, Z, AC, AI, AL, AN, AO, AQ-AZ, BA-BP, BS-BZ, CA-CC.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology. Nov 2001. Land off Chapel Lane, Navenby. ESNA01.
  •  Unpublished Document: City and County Museum. Reports regarding and drawings of Romno-British finds from Navenby. Reports 649-50, 737, 794, 806, 915, 926-8, 945-50, 1001, 1007, 1016, 1019, 1025-6,1153-4,1178,1180-1.
  •  Artefact: City and County Museum Collection. LM 24.65, 224.76, 5.78, 8.78, 12.78, 103.78, 151.78, 177.78, 180.78, 191.78, 199.78.
  •  Article in Serial: J.B. Whitwell (ed.). 1966. 'Archaeological Notes, 1964 and 1965' in Lincolnshire History and Archaeology. vol.1, p.45.
  •  Photograph: City and County Museum. 1978. Photographs of patera handle from Romano-British settlement at Navenby. Print. P16/78/25 and 26.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology. 1994. Desk Top Assessment of Land at Chapel Lane, Navenby. -.
  •  Report: PRE-CONSTRUCT ARCHAEOLOGY. 1995. CHAPEL HEATH, NAVENBY. CHN94.
  •  Archive: PRE-CONSTRUCT ARCHAEOLOGY. 1994. CHAPEL HEATH, NAVENBY. LCNCC 154.94.
  •  Article in Serial: F.N. Field and I. George. 1995. Archaeology in Lincolnshire. vol.30, p.48.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology. 1999. Chapel Lane, Navenby: Watching Brief Report. CLN96.
  •  Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology. 2000. Chapel Lane, Navenby. LCNCC 1996.85.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology. Oct 2000. Central Lincs Trunk Main Rehabilitation, Phase1 - Ermine Street, Navenby. ESN00.
  •  Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology. Oct 2000. Central Lincs Trunk Main Rehabilitation, Phase 1 - Ermine Street, Navenby. LCNCC 2000.141.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology. April 2001. Land west of Ermine Street, Navenby. ESNA01.
  •  Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology. April 2001. Land west of Ermine Street, Navenby. LCNCC 2001.66.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Geophysics. 1999. Land south of Winton Road: Phase D, Chapel Heath, Navenby. -.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology. Oct 1999. Land at Chapel Heath, Navenby. CHNE99.
  •  Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology. Oct 1999. Land at Chapel Heath, Navenby. LCNCC 180.99.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology. Nov 2001. Land off Chapel Lane, Navenby. ESNA01.
  •  Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology. Nov 2001. Land off Chapel Lane, Navenby. LCNCC 2001.66.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Geophysics. 2000. Fluxgate gradiometer survey of land off Centurion Close. NED00.
  •  Archive: Pre-Construct Geophysics. 2000. Fluxgate gradiometer survey of land off Centurion Close, Navenby. LCNCC 1.2000.
  •  Article in Serial: F.N. Field and I. George. 1996. Lincolnshire History and Archaeology. vol.31, p.58.
  •  Report: PRE-CONSTRUCT ARCHAEOLOGY. 1996. CHAPEL HEATH, NAVENBY. CHN94.
  •  Verbal Communication: D.P.. 1998. -.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology. April 1995. Chapel Heath, Navenby: An archaeological fieldwalking report. CHN95.
  •  Archive: PRE-CONSTRUCT ARCHAEOLOGY. 1995. CHAPEL HEATH, NAVENBY. LCNCC 48.95.
  •  Report: PRE-CONSTRUCT ARCHAEOLOGY. 1995. LAND OFF GRANTHAM ROAD, NAVENBY. CHN95.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology. Feb 2005. Watching brief at Chapel Heath, Navenby. ESNA03 CHNA03.
  •  Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology. Feb 2005. Watching brief at Chapel Heath, Navenby. LCNCC 2003.119.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology (Lincoln). 2007. Plots E24-E31, E35-E38 and E55-E56, Chapel Heath, Navenby: Archaeological Watching Brief Report. PCHN05.
  •  Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology (Lincoln). 2007. Plots E24-E31, E35-E38 and E55-E56, Chapel Heath, Navenby: Archaeological Watching Brief Report. LCNCC 2005.247.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology (Lincoln). 2008. An Archaeological Watching Brief Report: Land at Chapel Heath, Navenby. PCHN07.
  •  Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology (Lincoln). 2008. An Archaeological Watching Brief Report: Land at Chapel Heath, Navenby. LCNCC 2008.59.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology. 2011. Archaeological observation, assessment and recording at Land at Winton Gardens, Navenby. NVWR10.
  •  Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology. 2011. Archaeological observation, assessment and recording at Land at Winton Gardens, Navenby. LCNCC: 2010.137.

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Grid reference Centred SK 99168 57629 (764m by 1266m)
Civil Parish NAVENBY, NORTH KESTEVEN, LINCOLNSHIRE

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Record last edited

Mar 21 2021 8:35PM

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