Monument record MLI86347 - Roman salt-making, land east of Stamford House Farm, Cowbit
Summary
Roman salt-making evidence found on land east of Stamford House Farm, Cowbit
Type and Period (5)
- DITCH (Roman - 43 AD? to 409 AD?)
- GULLY (Roman - 43 AD? to 409 AD?)
- SALT WORKS (Roman - 43 AD? to 409 AD?)
- PIT (Roman - 43 AD to 250 AD)
- SETTLEMENT (Roman - 43 AD to 300 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Full Description
PRN 23908
Archaeological evaluation (trial trenching) along the proposed route of the A1073 relief road between Eye (near Peterborough) and Spalding. Removal of topsoil exposed debris associated with saltworking, which was up to 0.2m deep. Further machining to clarify the nature of the archaeology revealed two features; the terminus of a ditch and the terminus of a shallow curvilinear gully. The ditch terminus produced nearly 10kg of briquetage, but no pottery or other finds. The lack of pottery makes dating difficult, although it is likely that the material is Roman {1} {2}
Excavation done in advance of the A1073 improvement scheme recorded a very Late Iron Age/Roman saltern site. The saltern lies within a hallow which is probably a small silted up watercourse. There are two distinct phases of saltern activity with a period of flooding between. The first phase was defined by a sub circular enclosure ditch with an eastern entrance, this ditch possibly had a clay lining which suggests that the ditch may have been used for water management associated with the saltern. The ditch had a great deal of small briquetage fragments, silts and ash which possibly represents rake out of a hearth, or oven which had subsequently been dumped. This initial phase of saltmaking may have been cut short by significant flooding of the site. Subsequent to this extensive dumping deposits containing large quantities of briquetage took place in the eastern area of the enclosure ditch. The size of the briquetage fragments and the good condition of pedestals suggests that the site was dismantled quickly after flooding. The second saltmaking phase occurred quickly after the flooding, as demonstrated by the lack of distinction between the forms and fabric of briquetage on this site. Two settling tanks and a shallow trace of an enclosure ditch was recorded from which significant amounts of briquetage was recovered; mainly supports and containers.
Just south of the saltern Roman domestic activity was recorded, the remains mainly consist of ditches, although a spread of dark soils containing large quantities of Roman material, a pit and an irregular shapes feature were also identified. The ditches appear to have differing alignments. Large quantities of pottery, mainly greyware but significantly a sherd belonging to a roman triple vase and another from a patera pan handle was recovered. The triple vase is rare in rural Lincolnshire, these are elaborate items and intended to hold oils or other liquids. The patera pan handle was made separately to attach to a dish which could have been either metal or ceramic, this form is often associated with the army , or Romanised urban contexts so again very rare in the fenland.{4}{5}
Sources/Archives (5)
- <1> SLI9435 Report: Cambridgeshire Archaeological Field Unit. May 2004. Archaeological Evaluation, A1073 Relief Road Between Eye, Peterborough and Spalding. LNEYSD03.
- <2> SLI9436 Archive: Cambridgeshire Archaeological Field Unit. May 2004. Archaeological Evaluation, A1073 Relief Road Between Eye, Peterborough and Spalding. LCNCC 2003.292.
- <3> SLI7988 Report: Pre-Construct Geophysics. 2002. A1073 Peterborough to Spalding Road Improvement Scheme. -.
- <4> SLI13827 Report: Archaeological Project Services. 2011. Archaeological investigations along route of A1073. SPEY08.
- <5> SLI13828 Archive: Archaeological Project Services. 2011. Archaeological investigations along route of A1073. LCNCC 2008.60.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred TF 26830 16200 (80m by 80m) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | COWBIT, SOUTH HOLLAND, LINCOLNSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (3)
- Event - Survey: A1073 Peterborough to Spalding Improvement Scheme (ELI3258)
- Event - Intervention: Archaeological Evaluation, A1073 Relief Road between Peterborough and Spalding (ELI5016)
- Event - Intervention: Archaeological investigations along route of A1073 (ELI11136)
Please contact the HER for details.
External Links (0)
Record last edited
Mar 21 2021 8:35PM
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