Monument record MLI89782 - Romano-British rectilinear field system, gullies and pits, Ruskington
Summary
Romano-British rectilinear field system, gullies and pits, Ruskington
Type and Period (4)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Full Description
PRN 64435
Fieldwalking identified a significant number of of second to fourth century pottery sherds, tile and brick concentrations in the vicinity of North Ings Farm, Ruskington. {1} Geophysical survey, however, did not identify significant anomalies, the underlying clay soils being magnetically unresponsive.{2}
Thirteen evaluation trenches were opened along a 900m length of the pipeline. Following positive identification of archaeological remains, arrangements were made to proceed to area excavation.{3}{4}
Eleven enclosure ditches of a rectilinear Romano-British field system, a number of broadly contemporaneous pits and the remains of several heavily truncated gullies were recorded. Pottery, dating from the first to the fourth centuries AD, was recocered, the bulk of it from the third to mid-fourth centuries. The lack of later pottery suggests that occupation had ceased by the mid-fourth century. The bone assemblage showed that cattle was the most common species and the production of prime beef was the main goal. Sheep or goat and pig were od minor importance to the economy. The presence of cattle bones suggests the field system was used as pasture. The ditches would have acted as field boundaries for managing livestock as well as channels for the drainage of water. The material collected from the environmental samples indicates the proximity of human activity of a domestic character, produing dumps of rubbish particularly at the junction of Ditches 1 and 2, but also that crop processing activities were being carried out on site. The subsatntial amount of pottery and animal bone recovered is an indication of nearby settlement but there was no evidence of any building or associated structures within the pipeline working width. Only three fragments of ceramic building material were recovered, which suggests that brick and tile were not used in the construction of nearby buildings. Some of the flattish limestone fragments noted in the fills of some of the features may have been displaced from nearby structures. Limestone does not occur in the natural geology of the site.{3}{4}
Sources/Archives (3)
- <2> SLI7382 Report: Bartlett-Clark Consultancy. 2000. Geophysical survey of the Hatton to Silk Willoughby Gas Pipeline.
- <3> SLI11206 Report: Network Archaeology Ltd. Apr 2003. Archaeological Evaluation, Excavation and Watching Brief on the Hatton to Silk Willoughby Gas Pipeline 2001. HAT00.
- <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 09585 52667 (150m by 154m) Approximate |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | RUSKINGTON, NORTH KESTEVEN, LINCOLNSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (3)
- Event - Intervention: Archaeological evaluation along the Hatton to Silk Willoughby Gas Pipeline (ELI7517)
- Event - Intervention: Archaeological excavations on the Hatton to Silk Willoughby Gas Pipeline (ELI7520)
- Event - Survey: Fieldwalking along the route of the Hatton to Silk Willoughby Gas Pipeline (ELI7523)
Please contact the HER for details.
External Links (0)
Record last edited
Mar 21 2021 8:35PM
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