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Excavations at Maundown in Somerset have revealed an incredible coin hoard within the remains of Romano-British roundhouse buried beneath 2,000 years of hill wash... Context One is currently excavating the site of a Romano-British settlement on the hills above Wiveliscombe. Despite being on the very edge of the Roman Empire, the dig could well change the way we think about how people lived under Roman occupation in the south-west. The opulent villas with under floor heating and mosaic floors found dotted across the region, some just a few miles to the east, are missing here; it seems that people living on this site shunned the comforts of Roman houses and chose to live more like their ancestors - in wooden roundhouses with thatched rooves! Amongst an astonishing array of artefacts already found, we have just uncovered a pit in one of the roundhouses that includes a pot full of Roman coins! A treasure trove such as this is not only rare but an extremely unusual discovery inside a building... We were contracted by Wessex Water plc to carry out the archaeological monitoring (watching brief) of the site for the new water treatment works during development groundworks. The investigation was advised by Mr Steve Membery (Development Control Archaeologist, Somerset County Council) as the remains of a Bronze Age (2300 BC – 650 BC) cremation urn was found 500m away just south of Jews Farm during the 1960s and there was a possibility that more remains from this period would be encountered. The monitoring of soil stripping operations across the site revealed nothing of any significance until a trench was excavated to divert rainwater around an area of quarrying where the new water works will be set. Trenching exposed a large pit, which, when excavated by hand revealed a large quantity of Roman pottery and a possible knife blade. The pit was found at a depth of almost a metre below the ground surface and it soon became clear that hill wash from 2,000 years of farming and natural processes had covered this feature under a thick deposit making it impossible to detect from the modern ground surface.
We approached Wessex Water to see whether they could slow the pace of quarry work by gently removing the layers of hill wash so that we could check for more features. They kindly agreed and even brought in extra machinery to do this. To our amazement, the machining exposed over 60 features including the remains of two roundhouses, numerous ditches and a mass of post holes and pits. We soon began the hand excavation of these features and discovered that the majority of the artefacts were Roman in date, mostly 1st and 2nd century AD. This was very surprising. Although the people that once lived here had all the accoutrements of Roman life, they were living in a style of housing that belonged to the Iron Age, centuries in the past.
The foundations of one of the roundhouses is particularly well preserved and includes a ring of post holes that once supported the walls and a central area of burning that was almost certainly the hearth. Excavation of the burnt area also revealed an iron hoop with three lugs that we have interpreted as the frame of a hanging bowl that may well have been suspended over a fire. However, THE discovery of the dig so far is a pit within the roundhouse containing a hoard of Roman coins! This includes over 200 coins scattered throughout the pit either as single finds or as discreet stacks of coins as though they once were held in purses or bags. As if this wasn't spectacular enough, the removal of a slate lying across the pit revealed the rim of a pot which appears to be stacked full of coins!
We have carefully lifted the pot as part of a block of soil so that it can be x-rayed to see its contents before we delicately excavate it in the field office. The coins have been provisionally dated to the late 3rd century AD and could push the occupation of the roundhouse even further into the Roman period. The discovery of a coin hoard in a building outside of the major towns and cities is rare and this could be extremely significant. The reason for burying the hoard is unclear; it could be simply a way of safely storing wealth or perhaps even a votive offering to bring luck for the family that once lived there.
The discovery of the coin hoard occurred just hours before a planned open evening and we were thrilled to have shared our excitement with the visitors that made the journey to the site. The occasion was co-ordinated between Context One, Wessex Water and Somerset County Council. An incredible 500 people turned up to view the remains and the site looked more like a busy market day than an archaeological dig! Visitors were shown a range of artefacts and were given extensive tours of the site.
Just a little distance from the roundhouses, we have also discovered evidence for iron smelting in the form of roasting pits or furnaces. This was probably carried out as a 'cottage industry' rather than a large commercial enterprise although it is likely that this helped the economic viability of the community that once lived here. The watching brief has also revealed other archaeological remains elsewhere on the site. This includes a post-medieval farmstead exposed near the south-west corner of the field during topsoil stripping for an access road. This complex of buildings comprised wall foundations along with brick and flagstone floors. Some of the pottery fragments found here date to the 17th/18th century. The research of old maps for the area showed that the farm still survived in 1840 and was known as ‘Hurelys’, and at that time the farmstead was occupied by the Webber family. By 1880, the farm had disappeared. In the same area, the excavation of a track towards some portacabins revealed the remains of a Bronze Age cremation urn similar to the one found at Jews Farm. The urn consists of a large, bucket-like ceramic pot filled with burnt pyre debris. The human bone fragments that we often find with this sort of find has dissolved in the acidic soil. The urn is 22cm in diameter and is missing the upper part of the vessel as well as being in a fractured condition but it has been possible to remove the vessel in one lump for micro-excavation at our field office. The excavation will be concluded at the end of July and we will then begin the task of processing all the finds and the data gathered from the site. News on this and what will happen to the coin pot will be brought to you as it happens... Our grateful thanks to Wessex Water for facilitating the time and resources to have made this all possible. In particular, we would like to thank Mark Lloyds (Maundown Project Manager) for his forbearance whilst juggling the complexities of his site schedule, and to Rachel Cawte (Environmental Services Team) for facilitating our presence on site. Our thanks, as always, go to Steve Membery and Bob Croft from the archaeology section at Somerset County Council for their efforts on the open evening and their considerable input behind the scenes. Of course no excavation is possible without the considerable skills of its field archaeologists and the Context One team on this particular project include Kayt Matthews (Fieldwork Manager), Cai Mason, Josh Slator, Pete Fairclough, Lorrain Higbee, Cheryl Allum and Ian Powesland. For all e-mail enquiries on this project, please contact us at mail@contextone.co.uk ©
Context One Archaeological Services 2006. |
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