Roman settlement at Greenstead Hall (EHER 8604)

Excavations uncovered the site of a 3rd to 4th century AD Roman pottery kiln; 2nd-4th century building remains, including a hypocaust, indicating the probable site of a Roman villa; a hut associated with Iron Age or Saxon pottery. There is also a cropmark of an oblong enclosure in the same area.

Monument description derived from merging EHER 8604, 8606, 8608, and 16348. Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import: In 1924 a pottery kiln was found under the hedge dividing fields 039 and 612, a little east of the middle position, 125ft NNE of the Hall. No plan of the kiln was made, but Mr J.W. Pudney, who saw it, described it as 'a red basin about 4ft in diameter'. Grey pottery was found, and some is in Colchester Museum. It is fairly good and hard but the finish is hasty, the wasters with much splintering and flaking. The vessels included very large storage jars. Most of the rims did not help in dating but several ledged porringers, f305, indicate 4th century date. VCH gives NGR TL 821294. In 1954 J. Pudney investigated cropmarks in fields between Greenstead Hall and the railway. Besides the finds mentioned above, a layer of burnt clay with tile; Belgic and Roman pottery; and three brooches were found in the field which later (1955) was found to contain the Roman building. <1> - <3> A pottery kiln "a red basin 4 feet in diameter" was found in 1924 by Messrs. F. and J. Pudney. There was a considerable amount of pottery, now in Colchester Museum, including wasters, of 4th century date. Cropmarks were investigated and trial excavation took place from 1954 to 1961. 2nd century pottery and mortar suggested a building site at B: TL 82192988. Pottery, a piece of glass and an iron axe head were found in the area of an oblong cropmark in the south-east corner of the same field. Tile, pottery, three brooches, a hypocaust with tile pilae and traces of a wall, suggested a building at C: TL 82092968; the pottery was dated 3rd and 4th century. Belgic ware was also found. Signs of a hut site adjacent to the kiln was associated with pottery thought to be Iron Age or Saxon. J. Pudney investigated two fields north of the Roman kiln found in the 1920s. In the more northern one he found little, apart from a 2nd century pottery and an area of plough-broken Roman mortar. The hypocaust was found in the field south of this. This seems to have been 4th century in date. Little earlier evidence was found. A pit, examined in 1954, to east of the building, produced 1st to 2nd century pottery. In 1961 another pit was found just north-west of the building, near a vestigial wall, and produced pottery dated 190-210; also fragments of greenish glass. The deposit represented a kiln midden and may be evidence for a kiln itself. 3rd century pottery was also found in a trench south of the hypocaust building. The hypocaust produced painted wall plaster fragments, jet beads from a necklace, and pottery of types made in the kiln to the south, and some paralleled in late 4th and 5th century levels at Hill Farm, Gestingthorpe. In 1956 a wall was found west of the hypocaust with 4th century pottery. Similar pottery was found in a trench to the east of the hypocaust. <4> A plan in the SMR shows part of the hypocaust building, with 2 1st century rubbish pits south-wets of it. There is also a plan of the overall area showing the location of finds. <5> <6> Finds made by Pudney in the field north of the building, in the area of an oblong cropmark, are given NGR of TL 83302970 in this source. <7> In 1963 a trench was excavated 40ft NW of the hypocaust building. A ditch was uncovered, with a tile-built oven cut into it. The oven had a clay floor with hypocaust tile pilae. Although possibly a corn drier, no carbonised grain was found. <8> Also in 1963, deep ploughing led to the discovery and excavation of a kiln 40m to the north-west of that found in the 1920s. It had been almost completely ploughed-out. It was clay-lined, with flues at either end. There was little pottery but this was 4th century, like the other kiln. Material and notes are in Colchester Museum. <9> - <11> A bag containing 4 sherds at Colchester Museum contains a note referring to a third kiln. This was not excavated but presumably a pottery concentration or wasters or burnt material provided grounds for assuming that a kiln existed. This source discusses the problems of phasing the hypocaust and the pottery from the kilns and site. <12> Plan of hypocaust building, oven and ditch in the SMR. <13> Roman finds from area of Roman settlement by M.J. Cuddeford, including imbrex and tegula fragments; a few sherds of decayed Samian; a scatter of Roman-British coarseware; a few iron nails, probably Roman; grog-tempered ware large storage jar rim. <14> Listed as the possible site of a Roman villa. <15> August 1976. Field visit. No significant Roman features, were seen on the ground. The site lies on undulating gravel land, sloping north to the River Colne, and at present under plough. Site 'A' shows as a vague air photograph mark. The hedgerow has now been ploughed out and the site destroyed. Site 'B' lies on the lower gravel, marked by a scatter of large flints and free stone but no Roman material was seen. Site 'C' lies on a slight gravel rise. A light scatter of Roman tile fragments was found (less than one sherd per square metre) but no features seen on the ground. According to the farmer no further finds have been made since the investigations of 1961. <16> 1994. Geophysical survey. Possibly this is the same site as Colchester Museum map ref TL 82142970 "approx. site of scatter of broken burnt clay and R/B tile excavated by Pudney", or could it be another scatter. A gradiometer survey of the entire site was undertaken with the aim of establishing the extent and complexity of the buried archaeology. Resistance survey was targeted to specific areas with the aim of providing a detailed plan of building remains. The gradiometer survey located 2 concentrations of archaeological anomalies. The nature of the anomalies indicate possible building remains and at least one kiln. Throughout the survey area there are suggestions of weak linear anomalies suggesting a field system which may be associated with the other anomalies. Resistance survey over the postulated buildings has proved inconclusive. Over the possible villa site variations in the underlying geology has complicated the results. The resistance results from the northern field have confirmed the gradiometer results but not provided additional information. <17> See also: <18> - <25>