Monument record 727/0/147 - Probable early Roman floor surface and occupation layer, Watling Street

A layer of flat stone laid on a clay base. Probably an internal or external floor. Dated by early Roman pottery

{1} A layer of dark earth was observed in the test pit, probably a post Roman build-up of earth.

{2} In the eastern corner of Test Pit 2 was a layer of stone measuring 0.7m by 0.33m wide comprised of rough but flat stone roughly laid in an irregular pattern. They were laid directly on to a deposit of bluish grey clay, which may have been backfilled or re-deposited for use as a bedding material, as it did not appear to be a geological deposit in situ.
The dark layer which contained surface was ubiquitous throughout the length of the trench and was broadly homogenous, although it did become slightly darker as it became deeper, probably due to disturbance and contamination with the made ground. Lower down, it contained a large quantity of oyster shell and some animal bones including a small tibia fragment, possibly from a sheep or goat, some boar tusks, and a rib of unknown species origin with butchery marks. Towards the base of Test Pit 2 was a sherd of probable Black Burnished Ware (BBW), a Late Iron Age/Romano-British kitchenware. Laid directly on top of the stone surface within the dark layer were three sherds of plain Samian ware, a type of red-slip Roman tableware pottery generally manufactured in Gaul.

<1> Rouse, C., 2015, Archaeological evaluation: Land adjacent to 173 Watling Street, Towcester, Northamptonshire, 2015 (Report). SNN110588.

<2> Martin-Taylor, C, 2017, Archaeological Evaluation Report: Land rear of 173 Watling Street, Towcester, Northamptonshire, 2017 (Report). SNN111027.

<3> Horne, B (editor), 2016, South Midlands Archaeology (46), p. 34 (Journal). SNN111326.

<4> Crank, N. (Editor), 2018, South Midlands Archaeology (48), p. 60 (Journal). SNN111393.

<5> KDK Archaeology, 2018, Land adjacent to 173 Watling Street, Towcester, Northamptonshire. Archaeological Evaluation, https://doi.org/10.5284/1049649 (Digital archive). SNN111954.

Record last edited

Apr 23 2025 6:42PM