Roman occupation at Site 41, Bedwell Common (EHER 4679)

Excavations in the 1970s and 1990s uncovered a 4th century settlement site with evidence for a timber-framed building, iron working debris, and a ditch. Finds included tiles, a quern, pottery, nails, and iron objects. Most of the site lay in the path of the M11 motorway.

Monument description derived from merging EHER 4679 and 16953. Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import: 1973-1974. Trial trenching. Two trial trenches made following fieldwalking and a Romano-British occupation of the 2nd and 3rd centuries was established. <1> Roman surface scatter found in 1972 and 1973 suggested the possibility of a site worth excavating. Trial excavations undertaken by T.A. Betts for the M11 Archaeological Committee (central section). The site lay on the 300ft contour, sloped towards the east and in the north-west corner of the field is a spring which flows to the open field boundary ditch c40m north of the trial trenches. Iron nails and roof tiles suggested the site of a timber-framed building. Pottery indicated a 3rd century date though earlier occupation is not ruled out. <2> April 1975. Field survey. A fragment of flanged Roman roofing tile, and the rim sherd of large RB pot found on field investigation, but no concentration to indicate an occupation site. <3> - <5> 1975. Update. A letter from W.J. Wright has a plan of the site with locations of the three sites excavated. All the sites were similar, consisting of a pebble floor with pieces of bone in contact with it and large flints scattered about on top of this, embedded in black occupation soil. The soil contained nails, roofing tiles, grey ware. Site F1 had a single timber slot, site F3 a 5cm layer of red fill (iron ore), F2 a handle of an iron cleaver or similar. A sample of 'iron ore' was sent to P Reynolds. A machine trench on the west side showed two occupation sites of similar character to those excavated. They extended over 20m and 10m, up to half a metre deep in places. Site seems to be 4th century with Bromley Farm and Oxford wares. "Site is the one at Henham, TL 531282". On site F2 a box was opened 6.5m x 3m. The floor runs the full width and continues on the north and west sides. Finds up to 1975 as including oyster shells and a pudding stone quern. <6> - <8> By 1978. Excavation. A newspaper article gives finds, some of which have been mentioned above. An RB settlement c100m square had been uncovered by 1978. 6 areas of occupation, pits and ditches had been found. No structural evidence other than roofing tile and timber nails. Each site had a cobble floor overlaid with a mix of soil, charcoal, lumps of stone. Iron finds included a cleaver handle, a 4cm diameter ring and sandal studs or hob nails. Other finds: a child's open bracelet, bronze, a few poor coins. Sections of 2 querns found, each c0.75m diameter. A pit inside the ditches contained many cattle bones. A black layer was over each site, suggesting use of fire for pottery or iron working. "The overall picture is one of a small communal settlement situated near to a spring, in a hollow with an open aspect to the south". <9> <10> 1978. Excavation. Observation of works for the M11 Motorway led to the location and tracing of a ditch, at TL 531283, a ditch and three occupation sites with pebble floors, of 4th century date. They have been excavated by Bishops Stortford Local History Society. <11> <12> 1993. Trial trenching. Three trial trenches were excavated to the west of the M11 - one contained ditches and pits of Roman date. This is no doubt associated with roman occupation excavated to the east. Trench R contained a number of features: one large feature (in excess of 0.9m deep and 8.5 - 11 m north-south) contained small fragments of pottery, tile, iron nails and a copper alloy coin; a distinct dump of Roman roof tile was encountered in its lowest fill. The lowest fill produced pottery of mid 2nd century to mid 3rd century AD. The two upper fills are probably early 4th century in date. Other features include: a narrow ditch which produced a fragment of millstone and a piece of bone pin shaft and pot of late 3rd to mid 4th century date. A roughly parallel gully produced oyster shell and pottery. To the east was a deposit of brown clay loam containing pot, animal bone and worked stone, probably the bottom of a truncated pit. <13>