The final week of training has now finished and this will be the last update. The excavation has been very interesting and has shed light on the complexity of the occupation of the enclosure to the southwest of the Roman villa and gatehouse. Although there was still activity in the area in Trench 3000 in the Roman period it seems less likely to have been dwellings and the large rectangular building dug in the last 2 years was probably a farm building. This appears to date to the early Roman period and may have been the working part of the villa. The picture below shows the cuts for the beam slots on the southwest wall and the course of a later drainage channel cutting the building at an angle.

The ditches have been very interesting as they have shown clearly different date ranges. The ditch that surrounded the trapezoid enclosure may have been filled in the years around 43 AD as pottery from this era was found in the rubbish fill deliberately piled in it. The ditch that ran beside the rectangular building, however, proved to have been kept open throughout the occupation into the Roman period as only Roman finds have been recovered from this ditch. The strange sill arrangement on the western side led us to open an extension to the ditch trench to the south to investigate this curious arrangement. The sill turned out to be the kerb of a stone track. The ditch had been partially filled to build the track on the western side, which suggests the rectangular building required more room than was available and the access track had to be reworked on the edge of the ditch. The picture below shows this track with the ditch.

In the base of the vestiges of a pit cut by the gully that cuts the building an unusually nearly complete pot was found. This small Black Burnish pot probably dates from the early 1st century AD. The picture below shows how it was found.

The following show the pot after cleaning. The two halves fit together with only a small section of the rim missing. It is rare to find an almost complete pot in this condition.

We shall be closing the site shortly for this season, after final records are made and will be looking forward to another year of excavations in 2008. This year has been well supported by many students from home and abroad as well as our many stalwart volunteers. Many thanks to all who took part.

Jayne Lawes, Director of Excavations

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