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Summary

There was once a bank or rampart on the inside edge of the inner ditch of the Roman settlement of Clausentum at Bitterne Manor. It was mentioned by Speed in 1770 and is shown on his plan of the area. It is also shown, associated with a stone wall, on plans dating to 1798 and 1802/1804, at least south of what is now Bitterne Road. There may also have been a bank associated with the stone wall along the shoreline inside the area enclosed by the inner ditch, but the sources are very unclear about this. In 1800, Englefield described and illustrated a section of a large bank of earth against the Roman wall, with another revetting wall on its inside edge. In 1804/5, much or all of the bank inside the inner ditch was levelled and it is not shown on subsequent maps. Two archaeological excavations in 1951 (SOU 202 and SOU 203) extended across the area likely to have been covered by the inner bank. None of the deposits found on these excavations were considered to be part of the bank. However, on both sites there was evidence of an old turf line, which could indicate the former presence of a bank.
[This record is not yet complete. Further details can be found in the sources listed and elsewhere.]

Protected Status: None recorded

Other Statuses/Codes: None Recorded

Monument Type(s):

• BANK (EARTHWORK) (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)

Full description

IP 4/9/03: In Speed's 1770 description of the remains at Bitterne Manor [1], the inner ditch and bank are mentioned, the bank being referred to as "the inner bank" of the ditch. Some structures standing on the inner bank are mentioned (see separate records). A plan of Bitterne [3] (reproduced as [2] and originally included with the manuscript copy of [1]) shows/labels the inner ditch with banks on it's inside and outside edges. The representation of the inner ditch is rather odd however, and I suspect has been mis-drawn; the structure said to stand on the inner bank in [1] are shown in the ditch in [2]. Another rough plan [4], with the manuscript drafts of [1], shows various features including the inner ditch, although the bank(s) are not shown.

[10] (1798): A plan indicates a bank inside the inner ditch to the south of the new road (now Bitterne Road - IP), and "Thick Walls of Masonry" along this bank and around the shoreline of much, but not all, of the area inside the inner ditch.

[7] (1800) (reprinted in [9]): Englefield described the Roman wall. "A large bank of earth is thrown up against it on the inner side, and, in the only place where I have been able to examine its interior construction, it seems as if, at a distance of about nine feet within the outer wall, another wall of about two feet thick has been erected, seemingly as a sort of strengthening to the rampart of earth. (A section* of the wall and bank is illustrated - said to be drawing No 8, but probably Plate V.)
* IP 12/1/04: The location of this section is unclear. [7] refers to the 1798 plan in [10], and the section could be along the bank/wall inside the inner ditch or the wall along the shore (part of which seems to be shown as two parallel walls) shown on the 1798 plan.

[8]: A plan (dated ?1802/?1804) shows a "wall and bank" just inside the inner ditch south of the "New Road", and a "wall" at several locations along the shoreline of the area enclosed by the inner ditch. It does not show a bank around the shoreline, only along the inner ditch.
IP 8/9/03: The plan in [8], although "taken in great part" from the plan in [10], differs from the earlier plan in several respects but this is not explained in the text.

[9] (1805): In 1804/5, "in the course of levelling and filling the inner fosse, north of the road, for the purpose of making a kitchen garden", "the whole of the ancient eastern wall" was revealed.
IP 10/9/03: The information given in [9] is contradictory and it is not clear whether "the whole of the eastern wall" north of the road (Bitterne Road), or across the entire peninsular, was revealed. Map evidence may support the latter interpretation. See event record (ESH1369) for full discussion. During the course of this work, some or all of the bank was presumably levelled.

IP 12/1/04: The bank inside the inner ditch is not shown on the 1820 map [11], on the 1859 survey [12] or on subsequent maps.

[5] (1861): Wilks described an inner bank "some 20' wide at the ground surface". (This equates to c6.5m - HK.)
(What is the source of Wilk's information? IP 12/1/04)

Two archaeological excavations in 1951 (SOU 202 and SOU 203) extended across the area covered by the inner bank. The relevant evidence from these excavations is given below, as presented in the report [6]. (IP 12/1/04)

SOU 202 (Excavation in Steuart Road in 1951 - Cotton Site B):
[6]: A trench was dug across the inner ditch of Clausentum, extending as far as possible either side of the ditch. (The trench location is shown on figure 8, trench sections and detailed plan on figure 7.)
HK 1995/IP 2003: A layer interpreted as part of the pre-occupation "old turf line" was found in some locations [6], and from this, the former presence of a bank inside the inner ditch may be inferred. This turf line seems to have been present in a strip about 3.5m to 5m wide, 3m west of the ditch, and in an isolated patch 10m west of the ditch (figure 7 of [6]); compare these measurements with the width of c6.5m for the bank given in [5]. Three pits (BI, BV and BVI) found in this area, and dated to roughly AD 70 - 85 in [6], might be assumed to predate any bank in this position. Note also that there was a wide band of postholes was found in this area, cutting the old turf line, and variously interpreted as a stockade or as piling for a stone wall (see separate record). Some large postholes and a small pit, to the east of this posthole band, may have been associated with it; HK notes that they may have been cut through the tail of the possible bank, although this could not be proved from the stratigraphy.

SOU 203 (Excavation in the Grounds of Bitterne Manor House in 1951- Cotton Site C2):
[6]: A trench was dug just inside the Inner Ditch. At the east end of the trench was a buried "turf line" above the natural gravel; this was not found elsewhere in the trench. The turf line ran up to the eastern limit of the excavation, and was cut on the west by a ditch (or pit - HK).
HK 1995/IP 2003: This is perhaps analogous to the turf line found on SOU 202, and may infer the former presence of a bank, however the limits of the turf line were not discernable on SOU 203.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

• ESH1366 - Rough Field Survey of the Roman Remains at Bitterne Manor in 1770
• ESH1374 - Excavation in the Grounds of Bitterne Manor House in 1951 (Cotton Site C2) (Ref: SOU 203)
• ESH202 - Excavation in Steuart Road in 1951 (Cotton Site B) (Ref: SOU 202)

Related records

Associated Links: None recorded

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