Monument record MLI89759 - Late Iron Age to early Romano-British metal-working site, Ruskington

Summary

Late Iron Age to early Romano-British metal-working site, Ruskington.

Type and Period (7)

  • (Late Iron Age to Roman - 100 BC to 100 AD)
  • (Late Iron Age to Roman - 100 BC to 100 AD)
  • (Late Iron Age to Roman - 100 BC to 100 AD)
  • (Late Iron Age to Roman - 100 BC to 100 AD)
  • (Late Iron Age to Roman - 100 BC to 100 AD)
  • (Late Iron Age to Roman - 100 BC to 100 AD)
  • (Late Iron Age to Roman - 100 BC to 100 AD)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Full Description

PRN 54431 Undated cropmark enclosures and boundaries, visible on aerial photographs. {1}{2} A magnetometer survey of this field was carried out in advance of the construction of a gas pipeline. The survey revealed two distinct linear anomalies which would be consistent with the presence of enclosures, and also other smaller anomalies which may represent pits. {3} Five evaluation trenches were opened in March 2000. Trench 1 in the southern part of the site was archaeologically sterile. Trenches 3 and 4 confirmed the presence of the features that had been identified on the aerial photographs and the decision was taken to proceed to area excavations.{4}{5} Excavation revealed a number of features that could be separated into four broad phases. The first phase (PRN 62827) consisted of enclosure ditches forming a rectilinear field system. The second phase consisted of a number of ditches and pits, and a discrete metal-working area. Two parallel substantial east to west aligned ditches crossed the site near its southern end. The larger one was 3.00 to 4.22m wide, 1.20 deep with moderately steep sides and a shallow base. Thirty sherds of late Iron Age to early Roman pottery were recovered from this ditch. Just to the north and separated by less than 2m, the second ditch was 1.90m wide and 68cm deep. The cropmarks on aerial photographs indicate that this double ditch was discontinuous. To the north of these ditches, a series of smaller ditches and ditch re-cuts re-established the Phase 1 field system enclosures. An irregular spread of burnt material 6m long, 5m wide and up to 15cm deep in the south-western part of the site was interpreted as a midden deposit. When first exposed, the presence of diagnostic crucible fragments in the spread suggested that it may have been the remains of in situ iron working and a sampling strategy was instigated with the aim of recovering metal-working debris. Quantities of hammerscale were recovered from the material, notably from the central portion of the feature. In addition to the metal-working debris, a mixed assemblage of pottery dated to the late Iron Age or early Roman periods was recovered including five sherds more closely datable to the period around the time of the Roman Conquest. Grass Snake, Slow Worm and lizard bones were identified in environmental samples. These species may have lived in the midden subsequent to its deposition. Beaver teeth and cockle shell fragments suggest that the settlement may have been trading over some distance since neither is likely to have been available locally. A horseshoe shaped curvilinear gully was recorded, possibly a temporary wattle walled structure with a south-west facing entrance. A sub-rectangular pit nearby contained metal-working debris and a carved chalk coin mould. A reddish-brown heat affected deposit found immediately north of the midden was interpreted as a possible furnace or ore-roasting hearth and so there is possibility of iron smelting on the site.{4}{5}

Sources/Archives (5)

  •  Map: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1992-1996. Lincolnshire National Mapping Programme. TF 05 SE; 0950; LI.871.9.1-7.
  •  Aerial Photograph: 1945-84. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY COLLECTION. BUX081.
  •  Report: Bartlett-Clark Consultancy. 2000. Geophysical survey of the Hatton to Silk Willoughby Gas Pipeline. field 18.4.
  •  Report: Network Archaeology Ltd. Apr 2003. Archaeological Evaluation, Excavation and Watching Brief on the Hatton to Silk Willoughby Gas Pipeline 2001. HAT00.
  •  Archive: Network Archaeology Ltd. Apr 2003. Archaeological Evaluation, Excavation and Watching Brief on the Hatton to Silk Willoughby Gas Pipeline 2001. LCNCC 2000.102.

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Location

Grid reference Centred TF 09854 50172 (309m by 204m) Approximate
Civil Parish RUSKINGTON, NORTH KESTEVEN, LINCOLNSHIRE

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Record last edited

Mar 21 2021 8:35PM

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