Monument record MLI70013 - Roman Aqueduct Remains and Associated Activity, Nettleham Road/Roaring Meg

Summary

Roman aqueduct remains and associated activity, running from Roaring Meg spring along the course of Nettleham Road.

Type and Period (8)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Full Description

The remains of a stone bank, 5ft 10" wide, were identified spanning the stream known as Roaring Meg. A single pier base made of roughly squared blocks of local stone and brick was also discovered. This base very probably formed part of the structures that carried the pipeline over the slight valley along which the stream runs. {1}{2}{3}{4}{5}{6} Part of the line of the aqueduct is visible on aerial photographs. {6} Excavations by Thompson in 1950/52 of the aqueduct adjacent to Roaring Meg located bases of piers. The 1930s observations and 1950s excavations identified a masonry pumping house on the margin of the pool and a series of piers. Components include a spring, pier bases, piping, and the East Bight water tower. The site of the spring is an area of uneven boggy ground adjacent to a small stream. There are no visible remains of the aqueduct near the spring. {7} Fieldwalking, geophysical survey and trial trenching, centred on SK 9899 7383, revealed remains connected with the Roman aqueduct. The previously recorded stone platform was again revealed, demonstrating that a course of masonry had been lost, possibly due to ploughing action, and that more intensive robbing took place at the time of destruction than was initially thought. The aqueduct piers and platform were set within a complex of ditches, postholes and a possible metalled surface. Activity was concentrated around the area of the marshy pool east and west of the aqueduct and especially around the spring. Evidence may exist in this area for the operation and/or maintenance of the aqueduct. A line of postholes along a ditch east of the aqueduct foundation may be remnants of a boundary fence previously marked by the ditch, or alternatively they may be structural elements related to the stone foundation. A clay-filled ditch may have been a channel drawing water from the pool. The metalled surface may have been a track along the line of Roaring Meg eastward. The surface widens around the platform into a possible working area relating to the aqueduct. The remaining ditches are possibly for drainage or enclosure, or the ditches and postholes may have had a domestic or ritual function before construction and after destruction of the aqueduct. The pottery assemblage dated from AD70 to the fourth century, with a concentration in the second century. In addition a non-ceramic tessera and 23 fragments of opus signinum (Roman pavement), some with paint traces were identified. {8}{9} An apppraisal of all the evidence of the aqueduct in Lincoln was made in Wilson's monograph, 'The Archaeology of Roman Towns Studies'. {10} The remains of a pier base for the aquaduct was exposed in January 1993, during trial trenching conducted to inform the proposed construction of a new foodstore on land to the north of the Nettleham and Searby Roads junction, Lincoln. The pier base had previously been identified and recorded during the 1950s excavation, although the site appears to have suffered considerable disturbance, and other pier bases also recorded in this area appear to have been lost. {11} A section of the Roman aquaduct was revealed in October 2006, during an evaluation conducted to inform proposed residential development on land to the west of 93 Nettleham Road, Lincoln. The aquaduct consisted of sections of terracotta pipe, measuring 0.25m to 0.30m in diameter, fixed together with internal cylindrical terracotta collars. The pipe was laid on top of a bed of coarse sand, within a trench measuring 1m in width and 0.33m in depth, that was bounded by rough limestone blocks. A layer of Roman concrete (opus signinum) was then poured into the remaining space within the trench, to form a jacket around and over the pipe. {12}{13}

Sources/Archives (13)

  •  Index: Lincolnshire County Council. Sites and Monuments Record Card Index. SK 97 NE: AP; SK 97 SE: K, S, AF, J.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: P.L. Everson, C.C. Taylor and C.J. Dunn. 1991. Change and Continuity: Rural Settlement in North-West Lincolnshire. Archive notes.
  •  Article in Serial: 1955. ARCHAEOLOGICAL JOURNAL. pp.106-28.
  •  Article in Serial: STEPHENS, G.R.. 1985. BRITANNIA. pp.197-208.
  •  Unpublished Document: RESOURCES FILES. -.
  •  Map: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1992-1996. National Mapping Programme. SK9873: LI.628.1.1.
  •  Unpublished Document: Trueman, Michael. 2000. MPP Step 3 report: Water and Sewage Industries. Aqueduct file.
  •  Report: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. April 1999. The Proposed District Centre, Nettleham Road, Lincoln. NRC98.
  •  Archive: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. April 1999. The Proposed District Centre, Nettleham Road, Lincoln. LCNCC 260.98.
  •  Article in Monograph: Michael J. Jones. 'Sources of Effluence: Water through Roman Lincoln' in The Archaeology of Roman Towns: Studies in honour of John S. Wacher. pp.111-27.
  •  Report: City of Lincoln Archaeology Unit. 1993. Proposed Foodstore: Nettleham/Searby Roads, Lincoln. CLAU site code: NRA92.
  •  Report: Pre-Construct Archaeology (Lincoln). 2006. 93 Nettleham Road, Lincoln. PCA site code: NERL 06.
  •  Archive: Pre-Construct Archaeology (Lincoln). 2006. 93 Nettleham Road, Lincoln. LCNCC 2006.247.

Map

Find a placename, postcode or grid reference

Map layers

Base layers

Info

Record list

Tools

Location

Grid reference Centred SK 9875 7337 (478m by 1040m) Estimated from sources
Civil Parish LONGDALES, LINCOLN, LINCOLNSHIRE

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (6)

Please contact the HER for details.

External Links (0)

Record last edited

Mar 21 2021 8:35PM

Feedback?

Your feedback is welcome. If you can provide any new information about this record, please contact us.