Thetford Forest Archaeology - Romano-British Finds

Thetford Forest Archaeology - Romano-British

The site of a previously unrecorded Roman settlement was discovered in the Forest during the initial phase of the project. The settlement probably covered around 3 hectares, and included at least one substantial building, with a tiled roof. Finds suggest that at least one building (possibly a bath house?) had a hypercaust heating system. There is plenty of evidence of domestic activity - with food preparation bowls (mortaria), quernstones for grinding flour, storage jars, and tableware. With a few exceptions (a little Samien, and one dolphin brooch), the finds are overwhelmingly late in date, and its main use appears to have been between 250 and 415 AD (at least). The settlement appears to have survived to a late date, with coins running up to 408 AD - the last year of issue in Britain. its early 5th century inhabitants witnessed the end of Roman Britain, and maybe the birth of either of Post-Roman, or so-called Anglo-Saxon England.

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This page last updated

2006-02-01
(y-m-d)

Paul Brooker

I discovered this site in 1995/6 during the run up to the SCS Project, before I had developed a proper methodology. The site was quickly disappearing under fresh vegetation, following restocking. I removed samples of finds, recording only approximate six figure grid references. However, using a simple method, I managed to map the clusters, and record the exposed edges of the scatter area. The site was not previously recorded. The site is located on a gravel terrace, adjacent to a river in the Thetford area.

Pre-Roman finds

Prehistoric struck flints litter the site, as would be expected in such a location in Breckland. Find types suggest a wide variety of dates for deposition - from the Late Mesolithic through to the Bronze Age or later. Removed lithic finds included: 2 flint convex scrapers; 3 flint micro-blades; 1 flint flake knife; 1 flint ?piercer; and 1 keeled flint waste core. I recovered no pre-Roman ceramics from this site, however, from a spot a few hundred metres away upstream, I recovered 12 sherds or scraps of probable Iron Age pottery - all dark grey or black, including 1 burnished sherd. I also found one sherd of Early Bronze Age combed beaker at the same spot.

Romano-British settlement

Clusters of late Romano-British pottery, tiles and quern fragments are scattered, often at high density over an area of three hectares. The finds suggest either a 'villa' type estate centre, or alternatively, a small nucleated village settlement, that existed here sometime between the mid 3rd century and the early 5th century. Finds suggest at least one substantial building with a tiled roof, domestic activity, including food preparation, and a heating system, possibly for a bath-house.

As is usual on such sites, the most common pottery consists of grey wares, but sherds of both oxidised and calcite gritted pots were also quite common. Samien is all but absent, with colour-coateds and red slip representing the finer wares, suggesting a late date. One tile was clearly burnt, which might suggest the fate of a building. The existence of this site may indicate that the chain of Roman riverine settlements noted at Hockwold, Weeting etc, extends further up river away from the fen-edge, than has previously been suggested.

Roman Finds included examples of:

tegula tile
box-flue tile
grey wares (including possible Nene Valley, and Nar Valley types)
Calcite gritted (including 'East Midland cooking jar' types)
Much Hadham
Pale oxidised
Nene Valley Colour-coated
East Gaul Samien (only 1 sherd)
East Anglian Mortaria
Oxfordshire Mortaria
Several fragments of millstone-grit quernstones were also recovered or noted

Metal finds on Roman Site 32349

With permission of Norfolk Landscape Archaeology and the Forestry Commission, local metal detector enthusiast Ian Hinton has been carrying out a metal detection search of the Roman site 32349. He has completed his search, and has recovered: circa 70 Roman coins, including 5 silvers; a bronze finger ring; a bronze domestic blade; a broken brooch; probable metal working slag; various iron nails; and more Late Romano-British pottery.

The finds have been despatched to the Norfolk Museum Services for recording and identification. Hopefully, they will enable a more accurate date for the site. Initial analysis suggests a very late date, after A.D 395 for the latest coins, probably as late as AD 408. This would be very notable for a Roman domestic site in South-west Norfolk.

Post-Roman Settlement

No sign of so-called squatter occupation - no Early Saxon pottery on this late Roman settlement, no Anglo-Saxon metal finds. However, there were large amounts of calcite-gritted potsherds - which have been associated by some with a Post-Roman 5th century period.

Roman Breckland

I am measuring the densities of Roman manure scatter across the Forest as a whole, and making comparisons between that data, and soiltypes; manure scatters of other periods; distance to water, etc. So far, the evidence is suggesting a widespread cultivation of areas of the Brecks during the Roman period, with Roman dated manure scatter turning up on some unlikely soils, normally reserved for heath.

I suspect that the Roman period saw some significant forest clearances in the Brecks. The main crop of the Medieval Brecks farmers was barley - with the light soil producing low nitrogen crops suitable for brewing. Perhaps a similar crop was being farmed here in Roman Breckland. However, clearances would have also occurred as a result of the high demand in that period for fuel, to feed the ever busy kilns, forges, salting pans, Roman drying ovens (particularly suitable for the brewing industry), and hypercausts. The period as a whole also saw a major growth in the British population.