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Summary

During excavations in the grounds of Bitterne Manor House in 1936/1938 (Site F, SOU 215), a 70 foot-long section of the Roman "town wall" was cleared, immediately west of the Manor House. Part of this wall had been visible above the modern ground surface before the work began. A trench was excavated against the inside of the wall to obtain dating evidence. Evidence for the method of construction of the wall was found. Two Roman drains were found running through the wall. A posthole found below the wall is thought to have been a pile to support the town wall over the line of the earlier ditch. Dating evidence suggested the town wall was built after 330 AD, or after 370 AD. The Roman wall is still visible in the grounds of the manor house. (See separate records other evidence found on SOU 215.)

Protected Status: None recorded

Other References/Statuses

• HER backup file (new series): SOU 215  (paper & digital)
• HER backup file (new series): SOU210-217  shared (paper & digital)
• Old Southampton SMR No/Backup file: SU 4313 SW 61  

Monument Type(s):

• CURTAIN WALL (Built after 330 AD., Roman - 330 AD? to 330 AD?)
• DRAIN (Roman - 330 AD? to 330 AD?)
• DRAIN (Roman - 330 AD? to 330 AD?)
• POST HOLE (Roman - 330 AD? to 330 AD?)
• TOWN WALL (Built 330AD or later., Roman - 330 AD? to 330 AD)

Full description

SOU 215 (Roman Wall excavation in the grounds of Bitterne Manor House, 1936 to 1938 - Waterman Site F):

IP 14/10/03: The final results/interpretation of Site F are to be found in Waterman's 1947 report [1], said to be on the 1937/8 season, but clearly also including the preliminary results of the 1936 season. Site F was re-opened and extended in 1951 (SOU 201); see [19] for the report on that site, and re-presentation of the earlier results.

[1]: A section of the town wall, 70 feet in length, was cleared, immediately west of the Manor House. An area c20ft by c16ft was stripped behind the town wall, to determine its date. Post-wall and pre-wall Roman deposits were found (see separate records). The town wall was built of regular courses of flint rubble, together with some limestone, bedded in mortar of a uniform light yellow colour and containing stone-aggregate. The wall had a maximun thickness of 10 ft at the ground surface from which it was constructed (the surface of L4). On its exterior (northern) face, there was a basal plinth or off-set of flints, and above this the wall was faced with limestone blocks, now surviving to a maximum height of 5 courses. The wall was built in a foundation trench with steeply sloping sides, the lower courses being laid directly in this trench, filling the whole trench (see section drawing). On the interior (southern) face, a slight spread of mortar ran out over the surface of L4. Above this point, the interior face was slightly battered, the facing flints knapped and the mortar struck with good weather joints. A total length of 69ft of this wall was uncovered on Site F, but for only 22ft was its full width revealed.
[1]: A drain, roofed with plain tiles and floored with flanged tiles, and with limestone sides, passed through the town wall. Both ends had been destroyed, but south of the wall was a deep pit, probably a sump or soakaway, filled with stiff grey mud.
[1]: West of the drain was a weep-hole formed of semicircular tiles forming a roughly circular opening.
[1]: A posthole below the wall is thought to have been a pile to support the town wall over the line of the earlier ditch.
[1]: Dating Evidence. L4 contained much late Roman New Forest pottery and a very badly corroded coin of Valens (364-378 AD). It is suggested, on this evidence, that the town wall was built in or after 370 AD, although this was not thought secure. Ignoring the coin, and on the evidence of the pottery alone, a date of 330 AD or later is suggested (this is discussed). (Other dating evidence found on the site did not conflict with this interpretation.)

Additional Information on SOU 215 from earlier sources:
[5]: The town wall survives to a maximum height above its base of 5 to 6 feet. The wall is further described (mainly as in [1]).
[15][16]: Reports on 1937 season. The town wall was provisionally dated to the 3rd century, possibly the middle of the 3rd century (this dating was changed in the light of new dating evidence in [1] - IP).
[14]: Undated photo (possibly 1936) shows a length of the town wall foundations exposed (windows of manor house are in the shot).

IP 14/10/03: Pre-war OS maps show a short c6.5m stretch of Roman Wall, whereas post-war maps show a length of about 20.3m; the latter presumably includes the part newly exposed during the excavations in 1936/8 (see photo [14]). The location plan in [3] shows the longer length of wall, so this must have been exposed in 1936.

[22]: Photograph on inner (south) face of the Roman wall, exposed by excavation at the NW corner of Bitterne Manor House. (This must be SOU 215, HER 29/2/2014.)

GIS: polygon derived from outline of the Roman Wall as shown on current OS gis base mapping. IP 14/10/03.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESH215 - Excavation at the Roman Wall in the Grounds of Bitterne Manor House between 1936 and 1939 (Waterman Site F) (Ref: SOU 215)

Related records

Associated Links

• Portcities Southampton web site - image 2527

If you have any feedback or new information about this record, please email the Southampton HER (her@southampton.gov.uk).

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