West Heslerton: Anglian Settlement Structural Catalogue

Initially, 12AF was an exploratory trench 35.5 metres long and 3 metres wide. A number of chalk blocks apparently forming part of a wall foundation were noted at the western end of the trench, and a piece of bronze sheet together with a number of late Roman pottery sherds were found in the eastern end. Following the discovery of a number of metal detector holes (the bronze sheet was also stolen), it was decided to begin the excavation of this trench before the start of the season proper. The trench was cleaned and the level of archaeological survival was discovered to be very high. When the wall footing was fully uncovered

, it was noted that it appeared to be curving to the south-west. Further extension of the trench (by hand) revealed the western return of the wall. This discovery led to the opening up of the area between the trench and area 12AD, and the uncovering of the whole structure during the excavation season. Due to time constraints, the whole area was not excavated (a high resolution geophysical survey was carried out), and the internal areas of the structure were cleaned, photographed and then left for a future investigation.

The structure measured 16.15 m in the north-south axis, and 11.36 m in the east-west axis, and has an orientation of 21 degrees (anti-clockwise from the north, assuming true north at 0 degrees). The straight sides and flattened or rounded ends are unusual (? parallels Beadlam Villa and site on the Wolds excavated in early 19th century ?)

Construction

Before the structure could be built, considerable modification of the landscape had to take place. A series of terraces were established, from south to north down the valley. In order to build the structure in this particular location and orientation, the western side of the dry valley had to be cut away by up to 5 metres into the solid chalk to accomodate the south-western corner. Initially, a chalk footing (012AF00004) was constructed. This was made of chalk fragments (from 3 to 40 cm in diameter) and was between 110 cm and 120 cm in width. The wall proper (012AF00005 and 012AF00051) was then constructed on this footing, and consisted of dressed chalk blocks bonded with mortar for the inner and outer walls, with the space inbetween filled with smaller chalk rubble fragments. The total width of the wall was 1 metre. The floor was constructed of small crushed and rammed chalk fragments, which sloped up to the base of the lowest wall course, rising some 15cm from the level base within the interior of the structure. A group of larger stones were set in an arrangement in the north-east corner of the structure, indicating that this may have been the entrance, or at least one of them. Internal divisions were only noted along the eastern side of the structure, where a footing (012AF00043) ran parallel to the outer wall for 7 metres. If a wall was constructed on this footing, it would have created an aisle of approximately 1.20 m wide along the side of the structure. Whether the gap in this footing is real or part of the robbing was not established.

Only 29 fragments of tile were found in the vicinity of the structure, 19 of which were clustered in a group just outside the south-east corner. While the small number of tiles does not preclude the possibility that the structure had a tiled roof, it this was the case then the tiles were very efficiently removed from the immediate vicinity when the structure was demolished.

12 iron nails were found within the structure, but this is not an unusual concentration for this type of object (a much higher concentration was noted in area 12AG just to the south, for instance), and again appears to have no structural significance.

Destruction Sequence

The structure was sytematically robbed of almost all of its facing stone in the latter part of the 4th Century. This robbing caused the chalk rubble infill of the walls to collapse and seal the lower levels and floor of the structure in the south and the south-west, and it is this collapse which protected the walls

in this section of the structure from complete robbing. The remaining wall stood to a height of 9 courses to the rear (exterior) of the structure and 4-5 courses high at the front (interior). Some post-demolition activity (although still within the late Roman period) also took place in the southern interior of the structure, where darker soils contained the majority of the pottery recovered from within the structure. These activities cut through both the remaining floor level and the collapsed rubble.

The Pottery

A total of 651 sherds of pottery were recovered from the structure, the overwhelming majority of which

were either 3rd-4th or 4th Century in date. Only 4 sherds were not of a Roman date (3 Medieval and one post-Roman), indicating very little later intrusive action. Where a vessel type

could be established (in 280 cases), jars dominated the assemblage, together with a significant propotion of bowls. Only a few sherds represented all other vessel types, (ie 8 dish sherds, 2 lid sherds, 1 mortarium fragment, 1 strainer fragment). Fabric types also show a very distinctive bias, with calcite gritted ware (68%) and oxidised calcite gritted ware (17%) accounting for 85%

of all sherds recovered. Crambeck ware accounts for 8% of the remaining sherds. All of the other fabric types have a very low percentage rate (ie 2 sherds of Samian, 12 sherds of Nene Valley colour coated ware, 12 sherds of Black surface ware and 18 sherds of Grey ware). When plotted, the calcite gritted wares show a concentration

in the southern part of the structure, with the other wares showing a more even distribution. Almost all of the pottery recovered was either from the post-demolition activity or from the colluvium sealing the southern part of the structure.

Roman Coins

Four Roman coins were associated with the structure, and 2 more were found in the area to the east, all with a mid to late 4th Century (earliest AD 346, latest AD 402) date

List of associated contexts

TYPE	CONTEXT	VOLUME	OBJECTS	AN BONE	DENSITY
FOOTING	012AF00004		0	0
FACED WALL	012AF00005		9	0
RUBBLE	012AF00006		5	1
UNDEFINED FILL	012AF00010		133	10
LAYER	012AF00011		31	0
FLOOR LAYER	012AF00012		1	1
LAYER	012AF00013		12	1
WALL MATRIX	012AF00014		21	1
WALL FOOTING	012AF00043		0	0
RUBBLE	012AF00044		17	1
RUBBLE	012AF00045		0	0
LAYER	012AF00050		13	2
FACED WALL	012AF00051		0	0
GRAVEL LAYER	012AF00052		1	0
UNDEFINED FILL	012AF00053		4	1
WALL MATRIX	012AF00116		1	0
WALL MATRIX	012AF00117		0	0
WALL MATRIX	012AF00118		2	0
LAYER	012AF00132		27	1
RUBBLE	012AF00133		1	0
RUBBLE	012AF00134		0	1
RUBBLE	012AF00135		15	4
INTERFACE	012AF00136		103	19
UNDEFINED FILL	012AF00139		7	1
LAYER	012AF00143		38	2
LAYER	012AF00144		0	0
FLOOR	012AF00145		0	0
ROBBER TRENCH	012AF00146		0	0
SPIT	012AF00009		20	1
SPIT	012AF00103		30	3
SPIT	012AF00104		74	4
SPIT	012AF00106		8	3
SPIT	012AF00108		15	1
SPIT	012AF00113		8	0
SPIT	012AF00114		0	0
SPIT	012AF00115		0	0
SPIT	012AF00131		190	10
SPIT	012AF00152		7	1

Context Details

Wall Construction (Chalk Blocks)

KEY_ID	TYPE	SHAPE	L	B	D	PROFILE	NOTES
012AF00004	FOOTING	SEMI-CIRCULAR	310	105	28		WALL FOOTING OF CHALK BLOCKS. MAY BE PART OF AN APSIDAL STRUCTURE.
012AF00005	FACED WALL	LINEAR	150	32	22		WALL LINE OF CHALK BLOCKS. ROBBED IN ANTIQUITY CAUSING DESTRUCTION RUBBLE LAYER 00006.
012AF00043	FOOTING	LINEAR	58	32	22		POSSIBLE WALL FOOTING UNCOVERED BY REMOVAL OF 11. REQUIRES FURTHER DEFINITION.
012AF00051	FACED WALL	LINEAR	304	45	5		FACED WALL AT THE WEST END OF THE TRENCH. APPARENTLY SET INTO A TERRACE CUT INTO THE CHALK NATURAL. SEE NOTES FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

Wall Matrix Material

KEY_ID	TYPE	SHAPE	L	B	D	PROFILE	NOTES
012AF00014	WALL MATRIX	LINEAR	430	138	22		SOIL MATRIX OF WALL FOOTING 00004. CONTAINED 3 SHERDS OF POT TWO OF WHICH WERE SAMIAN.
012AF00116	WALL MATRIX	CURVILINEAR	970	100	2	UNDULATING	CONSTRUCTION MATRIX BONDING WALL FOOTINGS OF NORTH WALL OF BUILDING. CONTAINED COIN OF CONSTANTINE.
012AF00117	WALL MATRIX	RECTANGULAR	780	130	12	FLAT	MATRIX COVERING RUBBLE LAYER TO SOUTH/INSIDE NORTH WALL.
012AF00118	WALL MATRIX	RECTANGULAR	580	700	3	FLAT	MATRIX LYING BETWEEN WESTERN WALL AND CHALK TERRACE.

Rubble from Wall Interior

KEY_ID	TYPE	SHAPE	L	B	D	PROFILE	NOTES
012AF00006	DESTRUCTION RUB	AMORPHOUS	375	142	23	IRREGULAR	DESTRUCTION RUBBLE LAYER OVERLYING WALL FOOTING 00004. CONTAINED A NUMBER OF LATE ROMAN POT SHERDS.
012AF00044	DESTRUCTION RUB	COMPLEX	129	86	12	IRREGULAR	CONTEXT ISSUED TO WALL RUBBLE. ALMOST CERTAINLY = RUBBLE LAYER 45.
012AF00045	DESTRUCTION RUB	COMPLEX	332	271	13	IRREGULAR	WALL RUBBLE AT WESTERN EDGE OF TRENCH. CONTAINS LATE ROMAN POTTERY. SEE NOTES FOR FURTHER DETAILS.
012AF00133	RUBBLE?	LINEAR	328	217	28	IRREGULAR	WALL RUBBLE ON INTERIOR OF WESTERN LONG AXIS OF LATE ROMAN STRUCTURE. MORTAR IS VISIBLE IN THE RUBBLE DISTINGUISHING IT FROM LAYER 134 BELOW.
012AF00134	RUBBLE?	LINEAR	271	185	22	IRREGULAR	WALL RUBBLE ON INTERIOR OF SOUTHERN SHORTER WALL OF LATE ROMAN BUILDING. DISTINGUISHED FROM 133 ABOVE BY CONTAINING LARGER WALL FACING BLOCKS.
012AF00135	RUBBLE?	UNCLEAR	139	120	5	IRREGULAR	POSSIBLE MIXED RUBBLE DESTRUCTION? MATERIAL. DARK IN COLOUR WITH FINDS OF A LARGE QUANTITY OF ANIMAL BONE AND POTTERY.

General Defining Spits

KEY_ID	TYPE	SHAPE	L	B	D	PROFILE	NOTES
012AF00009	SPIT	RECTANGULAR	497	300	40		TRENCH EXCAVATED TO ESTABLISH LEVEL OF NATURAL. STOPPED WHEN AN OBVIOUS FEATURE BECAME VISIBLE.
012AF00103	SPIT	RECTANGULAR	500	280	5	FLAT	CLEANING SPIT IN TRENCH 2. EXPOSING WALL AND FLOOR AREA. POTTERY COIN IRON NAIL PEDESTAL BASE. SOIL REMOVED WAS HILLWASH MATERIAL.
012AF00104	SPIT	COMPLEX	450	70	2	IRREGULAR	SOIL MATRIX OF RUBBLE WALL EXPOSED BY CLEANING SPIT 103. POTTERY TILE IRON NAIL WAS FOUND.
012AF00106	SPIT	RECTANGULAR	550	280	55	UNDULATING	CLEANING SPIT IN TRENCH 2 TO REMOVE HILLWASH AND DEFINE BEDROCK AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IT AND BACK WALL OF BUILDING. SOME POTTERY.
012AF00108	SPIT	RECTANGULAR	1730	136	5	FLAT	CLEANING SPIT OVER REST OF BUILDING. AREA BETWEEN TRENCHS2 AND 3. REMOVED BY MACHINE AND FINDS BAGGED BEFORE SHOVELLING.
012AF00113	SPIT	CURVILINEAR	970	100	17	FLAT	CLEANING SPIT TO DEFINE NORTHERN WALL OF BUILDING.
012AF00114	SPIT	LINEAR	850	150	12	FLAT	CLEANING SPIT TO DEFINE EASTERN WALL OF BUILDING. CONTAINED POT IRON AND OCCASIONAL BONE.
012AF00115	SPIT	LINEAR	970	140	20	UNDULATING	CLEANING SPIT TO DEFINE WESTERN WALL OF BUILDING AND COLLAPSED RUBBLE ON INSIDE OF WALL.
012AF00131	SPIT	RECTANGULAR	1369	889	5	COMPLEX	REMOVAL OF REMAINING COLL. FROM INTERIOR OF FLATTENED APSE STRUCTURE. AREA THUS DEFINED BY WALL LINES.
012AF00152	SPIT	RECTANGULAR	315	194	5		SPIT TAKEN DOWN TO DEFINE POSSIBLE ENTRANCE TO BUILDING. UNCOVERED PIT 153.

012AF00054 Undefined Feature (Post-dates slighting of structure)

KEY_ID	TYPE	SHAPE	L	B	D	PROFILE	NOTES
012AF00010	UNDEFINED FILL	LINEAR	403	130	13		UNDEFINED FEATURE CUTTING THROUGH FLOOR 00012. CONTAINED LARGE SHERDS OF UNABRADED POTTERY.
012AF00053	UNDEFINED FILL	LINEAR	271	95	10		DIFFERENT TO FILL 10 BY BEING LIGHTER WITH MORE CHALK INCLUSIONS. SIMILAR HIGH LEVEL OF POTTERY TO 10 WITH MORE ANIMAL BONE.
012AF00139	UNDEFINED FILL	LINEAR	183	171	22		UNDEFINED FEATURE. CONTAINED LARGE QUANTITY OF FRAGILE POTTERY AND SOME ANIMAL BONE. A POST DESTRUCTION EVENT.
012AF00054	UNDEFINED CUT	LINEAR	379	94	23		NOT FULLY EXCAVATED IN INITIAL EXCAVATION PHASE. AN UNDEFINED FEATURE WHICH CONTAINED MUCH LATE ROMAN EASILY DECAYING POTTERY.

Layer of darker soil

KEY_ID	TYPE	SHAPE	L	B	D	PROFILE	NOTES
012AF00011	LAYER	AMORPHOUS	292	300	10		AREA OF DARKER SOIL BENEATH THE HILLWASH. OVERLIES FLOOR 00012. CONTAINED ANIMAL BONE AND POTTERY.
012AF00013	LAYER	LINEAR	231	111	5		DARKER AREA OF SOIL. CONTAINS POTTERY AND BONE.
012AF00132	LAYER	UNCLEAR	315	271	15		LAYER OF DARKER MATERIAL SEALING BASE OF 133. POSSIBLY = 11. CHARCOAL FLECKING THROUGHOUT. FINDS OF POTTERY AND ANIMAL BONE.

Floor layer

KEY_ID	TYPE	SHAPE	L	B	D	PROFILE	NOTES
012AF00012	FLOOR LAYER	LINEAR	362	72	5		POSSIBLE FLOOR. CUT BY DITCH 00010. CONTIGUOUS WITH CHALK GRAVEL AND PEA GRIT. FINDS OF A FEW SHERDS OF POTTERY.
012AF00052	GRAVEL LAYER	UNCLEAR	304	273	2		GRAVEL AND PEA GRIT APPARENTLY CONTIGUOUS WITH FLOOR LAYER 12. CUT BY 53/54. UNDERLIES LAYER 11 AND RUBBLE SPREAD 6.
012AF00145	FLOOR	UNCLEAR	879	215	0		FLOOR LEVEL EXPOSED BY REMOVAL OF DESTRUCTION LAYER 144. POSSIBLY CUT BY ROBBER TRENCH 146.

Mixed Hillwash Layers

KEY_ID	TYPE	SHAPE	L	B	D	PROFILE	NOTES
012AF00050	LAYER	RECTANGULAR	210	252	5	FLAT	LAYER OF SANDIER MATERIAL. CHALK INCLUSIONS OF 50% (1 TO 4 CM IN DIAM). FINDS INCLUDE POTTERY AND ANIMAL BONE.
012AF00136	INTERFACE	UNCLEAR	250	159	2	FLAT	CONTEXT NUMBER GIVEN TO INTERFACE TO DISTINGUISH FINDS OF 132 FROM 135.
012AF00143	LAYER	UNCLEAR	300	153	10		MIXED HILLWASH MATERIAL OVERLYING WALL COLLAPSE 134. EQUALS LAYER 135. SEE NOTES FOR CONTINUATION.
012AF00144	LAYER	UNCLEAR	372	193	15		MATERIAL OVERLYING FLOOR LEVEL 145. THICKER AGAINST THE WALL THINNING AS IT EXTENDS OUT INTO THE BUILDING AREA.

Possible Robber Trench

KEY_ID	TYPE	SHAPE	L	B	D	PROFILE	NOTES
012AF00146	ROBBER TRENCH?	LINEAR?	69	23	0		NUMBER GIVEN OUT TO POSSIBLE ROBBER TRENCH. NOT EXCAVATED.