HER 4116 DESCRIPTION:-

1936 - Excavations by EM Clifford were briefly summarised in an article published by the Cotteswold Naturalists Field Club. This implies investigation of the 'pit dwellings' as well as of the linear earthwork across the common, considered the last remaining part of Rodborough Camp. This notes the finding of Iron Age pottery. {Source Work 10539.}

A ditch of Claudian or later date on the site of an Iron Age (HER 4117) and Romano-British settlement measured at least 280' long was V-shaped in profile and c14' wide and 6.5" deep. It lay inside a post-Roman (?) enclosure (HER 4118). Excavation and building work have revealed Belgic and early Roman material. {Source Work 862.}

The construction of houses has destroyed all traces of earthwork save a 100m length of the west side. This on common land comprises a ditch 1.6m deep with an outer bank 0.6m high extending from SO 8498 0320 to SO 8496 0329. {Source Work 862.}

The remaining segment of bank with inner ditch on the west side is grass and bush covered on common (owned by The National Trust). Extant earthwork also visible on 1946 aerial photographs. {Source Work 863.}

Romano-British camp - earthwork. The remaining segment on west side of bank and inner ditch is relatively well-preserved, just beyond the limit of housing encroachment onto the common. {Source Work 470.}

Early Roman settlement (SO 850 032), on Rodborough Common, with probable military associations, occur near the west end of a flat-topped ridge, on Inferior Oolite at over 180m aOD. Excavation, and observation of builders' trenches, has revealed mid-1st century material associated with a ditch at least 76m long, V-shaped in profile, about 4.3m wide and 2m, the ditch lies inside and is truncated by an 3.2Ha enclosure, probably post-Roman. The west bank of the enclosure, with an inner ditch, survives as a prominent earthwork. Similar finds were made to the southeast.The material includes a Claudian dupondius, a bronze brooch of Camulodunum type IV, a bronze stud (possibly military), and pottery and vessels in both local Iron Age tradition and Savernake ware. {Source Work 1572.}

AREA ASSESSMENT: -

No plough damage. {Source Work 470.}

AREA MANAGEMENT: -

Recommend schedule urgently. {Source Work 470.}

A review of the evidence relating to the suspected settlement was undertaken in 1992 as part of a survey of Rodborough earthwork (HER 4118) is of this date.

2003 - GADARG carried out a resistivity survey of parts of The Hithe, mostly during 2003, to establish, if possible, the pecise course of the ditches that defined the original enclosure on the site. The survey had to be split into several small pieces of work as it took place in several private gardens. Survey A has been previously recorded by the SMR as area 22078. The work was finally divided into 10 small surveys (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J, K).

The report considered that the results could not be considered conclusive because of the small scale of the survey but that they did help to define the location of Rennie's ditch II in relation to the present day estate housing. It was also suggested that this work goes some way to confirming that the surviving ditch on the common is linked to Rennie's ditch II.

In area K the survey suggested the presence of pits. This area lies within the enclosure and Rennie had found possible evidence of Roman occupation here near the south-east corner of the ditch.

No purpose for the resulting trapizoidal enclosure from linking these ditches is suggested in the report but does suggest the available evidence indicates that it was constructed in the early first century AD and its reuse for agriculture before 1170. {Source Work 8054}.

The sites of the survey have been digitised as 27607 - A/B, C/D, E, F, G/H, J and K.