Possible Roman building at Park Cottage (GC5), Rose Lane (EHER 13894)

Excavations in 1990-1991 at Park Cottages, Rose Lane, uncovered the remains of a possible Roman building measuring 6.3m by 10.3m.

1990. Watching brief. Roman occupation. The top layer consisted of a greyish-brown loam, containing 4th century Roman pottery and scraps of iron and bone. This sealed a 20cm thick gravelled horizon running obliquely in relation to the rear of the property, 3.5m from its south-west corner, and 4.6m away from its north-west corner. No finds were obtained from the gravel which rested on natural subsoil. The pottery from the loam comprised 14 sherds of fourth century wares and forms: Nene Valley colour-coat and mortaria, Hadham red ware and grey ware and a storage jar in Midlands (?Nene Valley) shell-tempered ware. <1> <2> June 1991. Watching brief. A follow-up watching brief during the excavation of five trenches revealed a thick layer of gravel sealed by grey/brown loam containing 4th century Roman pottery and other materials. Below this was a single layer of smaller stones with pottery and other material lying between the two layers. A wall foundation of chalk and gravelly soil mix stood on top of the lower gravel area but appeared not to be contemporary with it. The foundation was approximately 1m wide and 0.4m high with large stones laid on each side and to a lesser extent over the top. There was no opportunity to excavate the foundation area which formed a rectangle approximately 10m long facing the gravelled area and 6m wide. Materials found above the gravelled courtyard included a 1st century bronze coin of Domitian, a bronze ear scoop, pottery, bones, shell and iron slag. <3> <4> A linear, foundation-like feature consisting of chalk and gravelly soil, 1 m wide and 0.4 m high, stood on top of the lower gravel area. Patches where the lower gravel layer had worn away (or been removed) suggest that it was later than the gravel layer. This chalk and gravel feature is interpreted as the foundation of a rectangular building, with a long axis aligned roughly north-west/south-east. The north-east and south-west walls were located in trenches, and the south-east wall was located by auger. Due to the restrictive nature of the site, the north-west wall could not be located. The building measured c. 4.2 x (at least) 8.2 m internally, and 6.3 x (at least) 10.3 m externally. There was no sign of surviving floor levels within the building, in the small area which was visible. <2> See also <5>.