Possible late Roman extra-mural settlement, Othona Community site (EHER 9981)

Trial trenching in 2001 recorded a series of post holes, gullies, pits, and ditches which produced later 3rd to 4th century finds. The features were interpreted as evidence of contemporary settlement outside the walls (extra-mural) of the Roman fort, 'Othona' (EHER 31). An archaeological excavation in 1992-1993 which focused on the area around two of the trial trenches expanded the investigation of many of the Northernmost features and recorded a dense concentration of gullies and some other discrete features. The linearity of the features recorded was not characteristic of a domestic extra-mural settlement and it was concluded that the archaeology in the excavated area probably represented an attempt at land drainage or horticultural practice. It was suggested that a domestic settlement was more likely to exist further South, in the space between the excavation and the fort, or to the West of the fort itself. A subsequent excavation in 2009 in advance of the construction of a new building took place in this area and recorded significant new evidence of late 3rd to late 4th century extra-mural activity. This comprised two main phases of ditched enclosures, a 4th century wall probably of an outbuilding, and identified the limit of the ancient salt marsh. The finds from the excavation comprise typical domestic refuse, including pottery sherds, butchered animal bone and coins. None of the excavations recovered any military-type finds.

1991. Trial trenching. The principal period of activity on the site appears to have been during the later 3rd to early 4th centuries, contemporary with the 'Saxon Shore' fort (EHER 31). Features included post holes, gullies, pits and ditches, but the trenches were too narrow for any firm idea of a site plan to emerge. There is a possibility that two ditches which run diagonally across Trench 4 from NW-SE and SW-NE may intersect at right angles to form the corner of an enclosure just outside the confines of the excavation itself. The finds belonging to this period include a quern and a mortarium indicative of domestic activity. The pottery assemblage includes late 3rd to 4th century Hadham, Oxford and Nene Valley type wares. The presence of both roof tile and structural tile, as well as fragments of building stone and mortar shows that there was at least one substantial building in the area, though it could well have been situated within the fort itself. The evidence, taken as a whole, for the Roman occupation of the site does suggest that there was a contemporary settlement, presumably the vicus, outside the walls of the Roman fort. Field-walking undertaken by one of the Othona Community member's in the fields around the fort has revealed a distinct spread of pottery sherds and tile fragments, between the community buildings and the Northern wall of the fort. It was densest in concentration in the immediate vicinity of the fort, but did extend out as far as the present excavation trenches. <1> <2> 1992-1993. Archaeological excavation. Excavation revealed the presence of late Roman activity, dating from the mid 3rd to early 5th century AD, to the North of the Roman fort. Around 120 features were excavated in the main excavation trench, comprising mostly gullies (straight or curved), plus a few pits, post holes, stake holes and poorly defined depressions. All were shallow; fills showed little variation. Finds were few also, but what does emerge from those contexts containing enough pottery for a secure date, was that the earliest features were of the 3rd to 4th centuries, and that the majority were 4th to early 5th century in date. This time span matches the Roman fort itself. However, the edge of the fort is 140m South of the main excavation area, and there were no specifically military items recovered from the excavations. It is likely, therefore, that this area to the North of the fort was not under direct military control. This being said, the features do not correspond either to what might be expected from an extra-mural civilian settlement. There are two possible explanations for these shallow features: either the site was as prone to flooding in the Roman period as it is now, and the gullies represent a series of attempts at drainage, or, the gullies could have been dug for horticultural purposes, such as allotments to feed the fort and its vicus. Though the outline of each gully is very irregular, the majority do conform to either a NW-SE or NE-SW orientation, and a number were set at right-angles to each other. It is also possible that some of these gullies represent plot boundaries. It is of interest that the fort itself, and indeed the current coastline, lies also along a NW-SE axis. This similarity in orientation between the civilian settlement and the NW edge of the fort suggests that the civilian settlement was at least roughly aligned to the fort itself. The dating evidence for the civilian phases is also contemporaneous with that of the fort itself. It is suggested that the extra-mural settlement proper was either situated to the immediate North, in the space between the excavated site and the fort, or to the West and, in either case, placed upon the higher, better-drained ground. <3> September-October 2009. Archaeological excavation. The excavation identified significant new evidence of extra-mural activity dated to the late 3rd to late 4th centuries related to the late Roman fort. This comprised two main phases of ditched enclosures, the latest of which was sub-divided in the later 4th century, and rubbish pits. These features were similar to those encountered in the 1991 evaluation trenches and the South of the 1992-1993 excavation area both in date and type, and provide clear evidence for an extensive complex of enclosures North of the fort. A major difference from the 1992-1993 excavation was that a wall of a later 4th century building was recorded, although it was not substantially built and probably represents an outbuilding. The 2009 excavation area straddles the 4m AOD contour and is slightly higher than the 1992-3 excavation area to it's North. Significantly, the excavation enabled the limit of the ancient salt marsh to be identified, and a clear distinction to be drawn between the enclosure complex to the SW and the natural erosion and drainage gullies recorded in the North and East of the 1992-1993 excavation area. The SW-NE alignment of the enclosures conformed to the outline of the slightly higher ground at the edge of the salt marsh rather than the alignment of the fort. The outbuilding, however, was aligned on the fort rather than the enclosures. The finds from the excavation comprise typical domestic refuse, including pot sherds, brick and tile, animal bone, shell, and occasional coins, similar to the range and quantity of finds recovered from the earlier excavations, but with a larger animal bone assemblage, which contained evidence for primary butchery of cattle. A large assemblage of shells also indicates that oysters, with smaller amounts of whelks, cockles, mussels and clams, were being gathered and formed part of the diet here. No military-type finds were recovered, although this perhaps not surprising. The presence of box flue tile within many of the features indicates that a building with a hypocaust (under-floor heating system), most likely a bath house, was present outside the fort. The existence of a bath house near the creek to the South of the fort has been attested to in previous investigations, by a large dump of material in this approximate area. <4>