Monument record MLI84500 - Roman Saltern Site, South Drove, Morton
Summary
Probable early Roman saltern site, at South Drove, Morton.
Type and Period (6)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Full Description
A dark soil stain and pottery of Romano-British date were noted in this location during the Fenland Survey fieldwalking. {1}
Augering and a magnetic susceptibility survey were carried out as part of the Fenland Evaluation Project. The magnetic susceptibility survey detected an anomaly interpreted as a possible hearth.
Subsequent excavation was carried out as part of the Fenland Management Project. A rectilinear system of ditches with an associated hearth and other features were recorded. Two flat-bottomed features aligned east to west and at right angles to a deeper ditch were thought to be settling tanks or evaporating pans spurred off a main tidal channel or feeder ditch. The hearth had a thin fired clay lining, and two pits lay adjacent to its southern side. A linear depression aligned east to west was thought to be a track. A post may have been part of a shelter designed to prevent brine dilution by the rain. The pottery assemblage spanned the later 1st to mid 2nd centuries and comprised mainly cookware. Environmental sampling indicated a saltmarsh environment which became progressively more tidally affected, eventually flooding in the late Roman period. The habitat was open with a few trees. Local cereal cultivation and processing was indicated. Wood and/or charcoal and cereal processing waste appear to have been used as fuel. Archaeomagnetic dating conducted on the hearth bottom gave two possible date ranges for its last firing, these being during either the 2nd or 4th century (125-188 cal. AD and 294-375 cal. AD). The earlier date range was thought more likely, given the dates of the associated pottery assemblage. {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. p.125; Gaz: MOR 33.
- <2> SLI7859 Bibliographic Reference: Crowson, A.; Lane, T. and Reeve. J. (eds). 2000. Fenland Management Project Excavations 1991-1995. MOR 33 (MOS93), pp.135-139.
- <3> SLI16528 Report: English Heritage Ancient Monuments Laboratory. 1995. Archaeomagnetic Dating: Morton Fen, Bourne. -.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred TF 1646 2328 (106m by 106m) Estimated from Sources |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | MORTON, SOUTH KESTEVEN, LINCOLNSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (4)
- Event - Survey: Fenland Evaluation Project augering survey, South Drove (ELI4137)
- Event - Survey: Fenland Evaluation Project magnetic susceptibility survey, South Drove (ELI4138)
- Event - Intervention: Fenland Management Project archaeological excavation at South Drove (ELI4139)
- Event - Survey: Fenland Survey Field Walking (ELI595)
Please contact the HER for details.
External Links (0)
Record last edited
Mar 21 2021 8:35PM
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