Roman settlement at Elmstead Hall reservoir site (EHER 80590)

Trial trenching in 2010 revealed mostly Roman ditches, two of which may correspond to the cropmark enclosure recorded in EHER 2587. Excavation in 2017 confirmed three phases of Roman occupation: the earliest comprising a curvilinear boundary ditch or possible sunken trackway and refuse pits from AD 43-120. In the early 2nd century a rectilinear field system was laid out, delineating at least one rectangular enclosure and one square enclosure. During the later 2nd century the field system was superseded by two probable ditched enclosures on the same alignment as the field system.

September 2010. Trial trenching. The evaluation revealed a distinct concentration of archaeological features in the centre of the site in Trenches 8, 12-20 and other features in Trenches 1, 24 and 25. The majority of features are undated and the remainder are consistently Roman and predominantly ditches. The latter date from the 2nd – 4th century. Ditches from Trenches 14 and 15 are the only two features which contained large assemblages of Roman pottery (587g and 2388g respectively). Mostly, the ditches were broadly aligned NE-SW or at right angles, aligned NW-SE. Ditches in Trenches 16 and 18 may correspond to the cropmark enclosure (EHER 2587). Eight gullies and seven pits were recorded, of which only one could be dated to the 2nd-4th century. The site is located to the SW of an area of Bronze and Iron Age activity and a concentration of crop marks of probable prehistoric date, which are centred around Elmstead Hall (EHER 2587). A cropmark was seen to extend into the edge of the site. <1> September 2017. Archaeological excavation. Three distinct phases of Roman activity were identified by excavation. During the earliest phase (broadly dated AD 43–120), the excavated area was bisected by a curvilinear boundary ditch or possible sunken trackway. This partially enclosed a large open area containing four refuse pits and a short ditch of unknown function. A significant change of land use occurred in the early 2nd century AD (phase 2 AD 120-200/250) when a rectilinear field system was laid out, delineating at least one rectangular enclosure and one square enclosure. A large number of pits, mostly shallow and in many cases undated, provide inconclusive evidence for associated activity. In the later 2nd century (phase 3 AD 120-250), the field system was superseded by two probable ditched enclosures (one rectangular and one possibly square), which partially truncated earlier field boundaries. Despite this, the new enclosures preserved the alignment of existing ditches and it is possible that elements of the original field system were retained. A localised area of dense pitting and associated dumping in the SE corner of the larger enclosure (characterised by increased deposition of pottery, fired clay and other finds) suggests occupation in an area of the site that had previously been in agricultural use. Although no in situ Roman building remains were found, a large assemblage of domestic pottery, together with lesser amounts of ceramic building material and fired clay (including structural daub), suggest that there was some form of settlement close to the excavated area. <2>