CBA SMA\SMA 1983.PDF - Council for British Archaeology

45
Two further significant Roman discoveries have also been made
at Caldecotte; the remains of a pottery kiln and a small 4th century
occupation site. The pottery kiln at SP8909 3558 is approximately
50m from that found during the 1978 excavation (CBA 9 Newsletter 9,
1979). Unfortunately earthscrapers had almost totally destroyed the
structure of the kiln making other than superficial recording impossible.
An adjacent ditch did, however, contain a large quantity of discarded
kiln debris including kiln bars and grey sandy pottery, dating production
to the late 1st or early 2nd centuries.
Several acres of intense Roman occupation have previously been
excavated in the Caldecotte area but have been almost entirely of 1st
and 2nd century date.
Topsoil stripping revealed a scatter of 4th century material at
SP8905 3489 associated with ditches and pits. A quantity of ironstone
and limestone was visible, but machine rutting was too extensive to
define any actual buildings, which would almost certainly have been of
timber-framed construction due to the local shortage of good quality
building stone. This is the first positive evidence for 4th century
occupation in the Caldecotte area.
Three villages with Medieval origins are currently undergoing
development of one kind or another. At Great Linford a private housing
scheme just south of the Manor Arts complex revealed the stone-surfaced
'back lane shown on the 1641 Estate Map flanked by several late medieval
and post-medieval house sites and yard surfaces.
The previously open central area of Old Bradwell is being
infilled with new houses and again as one would expect a certain amount
of medieval and post-medieval material has been found although no actual
buildings have been recognised.
A drainage scheme at Shenley Church End has recently cut through
several areas of earthworks. Medieval material has been unearthed but
the conditions are such that ephemeral timber structures would not be
visible. Traces of several late 17th and early 18th century structures
have been located, one of which was shown on an estate map of 1693 but
which had disappeared on a later map of 1771.
A somewhat surprising find has been that of yet another Roman
building with tesselated floor(s) on the Bancroft grid square SP8253 4058,
only 400m north of the Bancroft Roman Villa. (CBA 9 Newsletter 9, 1979).
A gridded fieldwalk of the area, plotting objects to 5m squares has pinpointed
a heavy concentration of fine and coarse tesserae mixed with tile
and masonry debris. A lighter secondary scatter of limestone just northwest
of the main scatter has produced a small group of late 4th century
coins and model iron spearheads. The association of these model spearheads
and a possible bronze votive pendant, combined with the site's
elevated position, the relative absence of domestic material and its
proximity to a major villa has led to speculation that it may be a
religious site or a cemetery/mausoleum.
A geophysical survey has just been completed by Bradford University, the
results of which should help the accurate location of the major structures
and possibly the interpretation of the site. An extensive housing
programme is planned for the area in 1983 and a rescue excavation is
planned to commence in the spring.