012AD05204

Quarry Pit

Phasing

The majority of the diagnostic material culture were late Roman pot sherds (32), with a sherd of samian also found. Like the other quarry pits in the vicinity, very little in the way of animal bone was found. The feature was cut by enclosure ditches 012AD05026 and 012AD08341, and by the small pit 012AD05322.

Stratigraphic Matrix Diagram

                012AD05012       
                       
            012AD05260           
                       
                       
  012AD08341   012AD05026     012AD05321          
                       
            012AD05322          
                       
                       
    012AD05303 =      012AD05293   =  012AD05203    
                       
                       
                       
                       
                       
        012AD05355              
                       
                       
                       
      012AD05304 =    012AD05294   =  012AD05204    
                       
                       

Discussion

The feature was never fully excavated, although enough was done to prove it was a Roman chalk quarry pit. This is one of at least 15 quarry pits Click for a plan of all the quarry pits in the area   on the western edge of the dry valley cut to extract the white chalk found in this vicinity, all of which appear to be later Roman in date. The earliest fill visible (012AD05355) was a dark (Munsell colour 10YR 3/2) sandy silty loam. This fill remained unexcavated. This was overlain with a sandy clay loam (Munsell colour 10YR 4/3), which contained between 5-10% chalk inclusions in the upper part, climbing to 40% chalk lower down. This was generally the case with the other quarry pits, infilled with a mixture of a soil matrix containing chalk rubble which was not of any use to the quarriers.

The feature was cut into chalk, with a profile varying from a wide V at the northern and southern edges to a U in the centre.

A small, shallow pit (012AD05322) was cut into the upper fill of the quarry pit. It contained a dark silty loam (Munsell colour 10YR 2/1), with a high charcoal content, and almost no chalk inclusions. There were no finds from this pit.

All Contexts and Associated Finds Totals

CUT  FILL VOLUME OBJECTS AN BONE DENSITY
012AD05204 012AD05203   2 0  
012AD05294 012AD05293   42 3  
012AD05304 012AD05303   4 0  
012AD05322 012AD05321   0 0  

012AD05293 Object Totals by Material and Period

KEY_ID MATERIAL PERIOD No
 012AD05293 CHARCOAL  
5
  POTTERY 2-3C
1
  POTTERY 2-4C
3
  POTTERY 2C
1
  POTTERY 3-4?
1
  POTTERY 3-4C
20
  POTTERY M3-4
1
  SLAG  
2
  SNAIL  
3
  STONE  
5

Context Details

012AD05204 Notes

KEY_ID TYPE SHAPE L B D PROFILE NOTES
012AD05203 PIT FILL SUB-CIRCULAR
300
95
42
 U-SHAPED FILL OF POSS. QUARRY PIT. PART OF CLUSTER OF INTERCUTTING PITS. TRUE EXTENT NOT KNOWN. 40% CHALK IN LOWER FILL/10% IN UPPER. CHARCOAL FLECKS.
012AD05204 PIT CUT SUB-CIRCULAR
300
95
42
 WIDE U CUT OF POSS. QUARRY PIT. PART OF CLUSTER OF INTERCUTTING PITS. TRUE EXTENT NOT KNOWN. CUT INTO CHALK NAT. AND REDEP. NAT-POSS. FILL OF OTHER PITS.
012AD05293 PIT FILL UNCLEAR
150
120
40
 U-SHAPED FILL OF PROB. QUARRY PIT. EXACT EXTENT NOT KNOWN-MAY BE MUCH LARGER. CHARCOAL RICH FILL.5-10% CHALK.
012AD05294 PIT CUT UNCLEAR
150
120
40
 WIDE V CUT OF PROB. QUARRY PIT. EXACT EXTENT NOT KNOWN-MAY BE MUCH LARGER. CUT VISIBLE IN SECTION RATHER THAN PLAN. GENTLY SLOPING SIDES FORMING WIDE V.
012AD05303 PIT FILL UNCLEAR
240
110
75
 U-SHAPED FILL OF POSS. QUARRY PIT. POSSIBLY A MASSIVE FEATURE OF WHICH TRUE EXTENT IS NOT KNOWN.5-10% CHALK. CHARCOAL INCLUSIONS. CONTAINED SAMIAN.
012AD05304 PIT CUT UNCLEAR
240
110
75
 WIDE V CUT OF POSS. QUARRY PIT. POSSIBLY A MASSIVE FEATURE OF WHICH TRUE EXTENT IS NOT KNOWN.
012AD05355 PIT FILL UNCLEAR
130
88
   U-SHAPED DARKER FILL OF MASSIVE PIT 5303/4 UNEXCAVATED.

012AD05322 Section and Notes


 
KEY_ID TYPE SHAPE L B D PROFILE NOTES
012AD05321 PIT FILL OVATE
56
45
10
 U-SHAPED FILL OF SMALL PIT. STONE FREE MATRIX COMPOSED ALMOST ENTIRELY OF CHARCOAL WITH A LITTLE SILT. NO FINDS EXCEPT FOR CHARCOAL LUMPS.
012AD05322 PIT CUT OVATE
56
45
10
 U-SHAPED CUT OF SMALL PIT. EVEN CUT WITH GENTLY SLOPING SIDES. CUT INTO THE FILL OF UNDEFINED FEATURE 5355.

Objects

KEY_ID OB PERIOD MATERIAL TYPE SUB_TYPE CLASS No
012AD05203 AA 3-4C POTTERY SHERD   ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05203 AB 3-4C POTTERY SHERD   ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05293 AA   CHARCOAL SAMPLE    
1
012AD05293 AB   CHARCOAL SAMPLE    
1
012AD05293 AC   CHARCOAL SAMPLE    
1
012AD05293 AD   CHARCOAL SAMPLE    
1
012AD05293 BP   CHARCOAL SAMPLE    
1
012AD05293 AQ 2-3C POTTERY SHERD    
1
012AD05293 AG 2-4C POTTERY SHERD J  
1
012AD05293 AR 2-4C POTTERY SHERD J  
1
012AD05293 AS 2-4C POTTERY SHERD BD?  
1
012AD05293 AO 2C POTTERY SHERD   SAMIAN
1
012AD05293 AP 3-4? POTTERY SHERD    
1
012AD05293 AF 3-4C POTTERY SHERD J ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05293 AU 3-4C POTTERY SHERD MHK ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05293 AV 3-4C POTTERY SHERD J ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05293 AW 3-4C POTTERY SHERD J ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05293 AX 3-4C POTTERY SHERD JB ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05293 AY 3-4C POTTERY SHERD   ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05293 AY 3-4C POTTERY SHERD   ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05293 AZ 3-4C POTTERY SHERD   ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05293 BA 3-4C POTTERY SHERD JBCUR ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05293 BB 3-4C POTTERY SHERD   ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05293 BC 3-4C POTTERY SHERDS JBL ROMANO-BRITISH
8
012AD05293 BD 3-4C POTTERY SHERD   ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05293 BE 3-4C POTTERY SHERD   ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05293 BF 3-4C POTTERY SHERD   ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05293 BG 3-4C POTTERY SHERD JKNAP ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05293 BH 3-4C POTTERY SHERD   ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05293 BI 3-4C POTTERY SHERD J ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05293 BJ 3-4C POTTERY SHERD   ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05293 BK 3-4C POTTERY SHERD L? ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05293 BL 3-4C POTTERY SHERD   ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05293 AN M3-4 POTTERY SHERD BK  
1
012AD05293 AE SLAG SLAG    
9
012AD05293 AH SLAG SLAG    
1
012AD05293 AL   SNAIL SAMPLE    
1
012AD05293 AM   SNAIL SAMPLE    
1
012AD05293 BM   SNAIL SAMPLE    
1
012AD05293 AI   STONE STONE   SANDSTONE
2
012AD05293 AJ   STONE STONE   RED SANDSTONE
1
012AD05293 AK   STONE STONE    
1
012AD05293 BN   STONE STONE   RED SANDSTONE
1
012AD05293 BO   STONE STONE   RED SANDSTONE
1
012AD05303 AC PREHISTORIC FLINT FLAKE    
1
012AD05303 AA 3-4C POTTERY SHERD   ROMANO-BRITISH
1
012AD05303 AB 3-4C POTTERY SHERD J  
1
012AD05303 AD 3-4C POTTERY SHERD JBL ROMANO-BRITISH
1

Animal Bones

KEY_ID SPECIES ELEMENT QUANT CHEW BURN BUTCH FBRK
012AD05293 Cattle Femur P
1
0
0
0
0
012AD05293 Sheep/Goat Tibia br
1
0
0
0
1
012AD05293 Sheep Tibia D
1
0
0
0
0