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Summary

Romano British occupation, Countess Close and the area to the south. An extensive 'ladder' settlement was revealed by a geophysical surveys in 2003 and 2006

Monument Types

• SETTLEMENT (RO:C3,C4,C5, Roman - 200 AD to 409 AD)

Protected Status - None

Associated Finds

• SLAG (Unknown date)
• SHERD (Late Iron Age - 100 BC to 42 AD?)
• POTTERY ASSEMBLAGE (Roman - 43 AD to 399 AD)
• QUERN (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD?)
• SHERD (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• TEGULA (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
• SHERD (Roman - 200 AD to 409 AD)

Associated Events

• Geophysical Survey, Countess Close and adjacent land, Alkborough, August 2003
• Fieldwalking, Countess Close area, 1979
• Fieldwalking at Countess Close, Alkborough, North Lincolnshire, 2003
• Trial trenching at Countess Close, Alkborough, 2003 (Ref: CCA2003)
• Evaluation at Countess Close, Alkborough, North Lincolnshire, 2006

Full description

SE 878 215. Fieldwalking at the margins of fields south of Countess Close produced evidence of late Iron Age and Roman occupation. Coarse ware, greyware, samian, colour coated ware, and dalesware identified. Quern fragments, wattle and daub, iron slag and two flint flakes also reported. Finds stored at NLM under AKAA1-8, AKAD. [1, 2]

Between August 2003 and February 2004, Humber Field Archaeology carried out a Heritage Lottery funded programme of archaeological evaluations comprising geophysical survey, fieldwalking and trial trenching.

The geophysical survey was carried out by GeoQuest associates in September 2003. Both a fluxgate magnetometer and a resistivity meter were used to survey two areas within, and to the south, of Countess Close earthwork. In the southern section, the survey revealed a set of rectangular ditched enclosures, extending south-west along the field margin. Their arrangement was consistent with a Roman linear settlement, with the enclosures flanking a road. A number of intense magnetic readings in this area suggested that kilns, hearths or similar fired structures might survive in association with this settlement. [3]

The programme of fieldwalking took place in September and October 2003 across the scheduled site of Countess Close and the area to the south, a total of 6.3ha. It confirmed the presence of a Romano-British settlement site, with the distribution of Roman material closely mirroring the extent of the geophysical anomalies. 268 sherds of Roman pottery were recovered and recorded, mostly small abraded undiagnostic sherds. Of the dateable material, a single 1st century sherd of South Gaulish Samian ware and 2 possible early 2nd century Samian ware sherds were present, along with 6 coarse ware sherds of a similar date. The majority of the sherds were greywares of probable 2nd century date, with a much lower number from the 3rd and 4th centuries, including Nene Valley colour-coated ware, Swanpool Mortaria and Dalesware. Four fragments of Roman ceramic building material were found, but were considered to have been reused rather than components of a nearby structure. One was tentatively identified as a pedalis (floor brick). It has been drilled for possible re-use as a weight.

18 further Roman sherds were found during the trial excavation. 1 sherd of 2nd century Samian ware, and 3 sherds of 3rd-4th century Dales-type shelly ware were identifiable. [4,5]

A second phase of geophysical survey was carried out by GeoQuest Associates in 2006, part of the Heritage Lottery-funded South Humber Bank Wildlife and People Project. The survey area lay between the 2003 survey and Walcot Hall, attempting to trace the full extent of the Romano-British settlement.

The results showed that the Romano-British settlement continued to the south-west of the 2003 survey. A group of four conjoined square enclosures were detected, each measuring 20m x 20m. They contained some internal linear features, possibly ditches or wall trenches, and also a single intense positive anomaly within each enclosure, possibly hearths. A weaker set of anomalies to the east were interpreted as silted ditches, extending behind the main ladder settlement.

The Roman road continued for another 50m, where it either terminated or turned to the west. A distinct enclosure also flanked the western side of the road at this point, with an entrance on the SE corner. This enclosure would have continued beyond the western limit of the survey, into the now wooded area on the edge of the scarp. It also contained internal features, particulaly a 6m diameter hearth-type circular anomaly.

The magnetic anomalies further south-west of this point were thought to be stoney rubble spreads, perhaps of more recent origin. [6, 7]

An additional four trenches were investigated within the scheduled area of Countess Close in June 2006, carried out as part of the continuing Heritage Lottery-funded South Humber Bank Wildlife and People Project. The archaeological contractors were Humber Field Archaeology, with participation in the excavation by SHWAP volunteers. The earliest phase within all four trenches was Romano-British.

Trench 1 was located in the north-eastern quarter of the enclosure, perpendicular to the enclosure bank and close to the northern entrance gap. An orange-brown sandy silt layer, up to 0.33m thick, was recorded in the northern part of the trench. It contained a single sherd of Romano-British pottery, and some fragments of animal bone. This layer was thought to be the original ground surface, over which the medieval enclosure bank was constructed.

Trench 2 was located to the south-east of Trench 1, perpendicular to the eastern enclosure bank. Two post-holes were identified, measuring up to 0.45m long and 0.16m deep. Another post-hole or small pit was up to 0.8m long and 0.3m deep. All had silt clay fills, containing animal bone and Romano-British pottery. Two other oval features may have been ploughed-out man made features or natural hollows; the fill of one contained a sherd of greyware. In the same area of the trench, a possible slot measured 0.24m wide and 0.35m deep. The fill contained Romano-British pottery, animal bone and shell. In the centre of the trench, a large oval pit extended into the trench from the south. It measured 2m long by 0.45m deep, and the fill contained Romano-British pottery. It was noted that four of these postholes and pits lay on a west-east striaght line, with the large oval pit marking the corner of a possible rectangular timber building, measuring at least 9m long. A Roman tegula (roof tile) fragment was an unstratified find from Trench 2.

Trench 3 was in the central southern part of the enclosure, intended to investigate linear geophysical anomalies. Three linear features were recorded, all aligned NE-SW. The eastern feature was a shallow gully, whose fill contained a single colour-coated beaker sherd and some animal bone. A short distance to the west, a ditch measured up to 0.7m wide and 0.44m deep, with near vertical sides and a flat base. The fill contained animal bone. At the western end of the trench, the fill of a narrow linear feature incorporated more animal bone and Romano-British greyware pottery. Nearby, the base of a post-hole or pit was 0.28m in diameter and only 0.08m deep, but contained a sherd of Romano-British shell-tempered pottery. A larger pit or post-hole at the centre of the trench contained only a residual flint flake. All the linear features appeared to correspond to the magnetic anomalies from the geophysical survey.

Trench 4 was positioned across the eastern enclosure bank and ditch. A former ground surface pre-dating the construction of the bank was identified; in contained abraded sherds of Romano-British pottery.

In total, 31 sherds of pottery were found within Romano-British Phase 1 deposits, and a further 27 within Phase 2 and Phase 3 deposits. They were mainly a mixture of oxidised and greyware sherds, abraded and not closely dateable. 8 Dalesware sherds were mid 3rd century onwards, and the colour-coated sherd from Trench 3 was 3rd-4th century AD. One piece of samian ware was found.

The excavation report concluded that none of the features in Phase 1 could be securely dated to the Romano-British period, given that the pottery was so abraded that it could all have been residual. If this was the case, the source of the pottery would have been the Romano-British ladder settlement, detected by geophysical survey in the field to the south of the enclosure. [8]

<1> Kevin Leahy, 1979, Correspondence from NLM parish files. (CORRESPONDENCE). SLS1204.

<2> North Lincolnshire Museum, NLM accession database (MUSEUM RECORDS). SLS1205.

<3> Noel, M., 2003, Geophysical Survey of the Countess Close Earthwork Site, and an adjoining area, at Alkborough, North Lincolnshire (SAM no.32622), 5-6, figs 2-6 (REPORT - INTERIM, RESEARCH, SPECIALIST, ETC). SLS2424.

<4> North Lincolnshire HER, 2003, Countess Close trial trench excavations, 5, 17, 19, 30-31, 32-33, 49, 59 (PHOTOGRAPH - DIGITAL). SLS5168.

<4> Bradley, J., Fraser, J. & Steedman, K., 2004, An Archaeological Evaluation at Countess Close, Alkborough, North Lincolnshire, 5, 17, 19, 30-31, 32-33, 49, 59 (REPORT - INTERIM, RESEARCH, SPECIALIST, ETC). SLS2687.

<5> Atkinson, D., 2004, HFA Evaluation and Watching Brief Reports, Report 153 p5,17,19,30-31,32-33,49,59 (COMPUTER DISK/TAPE). SLS2723.

<6> Noel, M., 2006, Further Geophysical Survey on Land South of Countess Close, Alkborough, North Lincolnshire (REPORT - INTERIM, RESEARCH, SPECIALIST, ETC). SLS3736.

<7> Noel, M., 2006, Further Geophysical Survey on Land South of Countess Close, Alkborough, North Lincolnshire, 3.3 - 4.2, Figs 1 - 6 (COMPUTER DISK/TAPE). SLS3737.

<8> Fraser, J., 2007, Further Archaeological Evaluation at Countess Close, Alkborough, North Lincolnshire., 5-7, 10-16, 17-21, 25, 36 (REPORT - INTERIM, RESEARCH, SPECIALIST, ETC). SLS3512.

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