Monument record MLI89769 - Romano-British field system and associated features, Ruskington
Summary
Romano-British field system, ditches, gullies, pits and postholes, Ruskington
Type and Period (4)
- FIELD SYSTEM (Roman - 100 AD to 300 AD)
- DITCH (Roman - 100 AD to 300 AD)
- PIT (Roman - 100 AD to 300 AD)
- GULLY (Roman - 100 AD to 300 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Full Description
PRN 64432
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. The most northerly trench contained a small gully which yielded a glass bead. 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 third phase was concentrated in the southern half of the site. Several ditches and gullies appeared to define field boundaries on different alignments to those of Phases 1 and 2, but they do not all fit a consistent pattern and it may be better to regard these as belonging to several sub-phases. The alignments were generally northeast to southwest, with the artefactual evidence suggesting that occupation of the site was more-or-less continuous, so this re-alignment may indicate that there was an organised re-allocation of land probably in the early part of the second century AD. Some of the small Iron Age enclsoure ditches may have gone out of use by this time, but the larger ditches are likely to have been still open, abandoned only when the area was incorporated into a more widely managed landscape that utilised larger arable fields during the Roman period. The re-alignment of the field system coincided with the digging of several large pits. None of the features appeared to have been shored or lined and would have been susceptible to collapse in the waterlogged ground, so these were probably short lived features. This suggests a use as either for water supply or drainage.{3}{4}
Sources/Archives (5)
- <1> SLI3613 Map: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1992-1996. National Mapping Programme. TF 05 SE; 0950; LI.871.9.1-7.
- <2> SLI173 Aerial Photograph: 1945-84. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY COLLECTION. BUX081.
- <3> SLI11206 Report: Network Archaeology Ltd. Apr 2003. Archaeological Evaluation, Excavation and Watching Brief on the Hatton to Silk Willoughby Gas Pipeline 2001. HAT00.
- <3> SLI7382 Report: Bartlett-Clark Consultancy. 2000. Geophysical survey of the Hatton to Silk Willoughby Gas Pipeline. field 18.4.
- <4> SLI11207 Archive: Network Archaeology Ltd. Apr 2003. Archaeological Evaluation, Excavation and Watching Brief on the Hatton to Silk Willoughby Gas Pipeline 2001. LCNCC 2000.102.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred TF 09854 50172 (309m by 204m) Approximate |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | RUSKINGTON, NORTH KESTEVEN, LINCOLNSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (2)
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.