Information for record number MWA3472:
Excavation of Roman Well at Brown's Spinney

Summary A Roman well was found during an excavation. It contained three cremation urns and a burial. The well was situated in an area to the north west of Little Lawford.
What Is It?  
Type: Well, Cremation, Burial, Inhumation
Period: Romano-British (43 AD - 409 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Kings Newnham
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 46 77
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 A few years before 1857 while digging limestone a limestone cist was discovered. This contained a skeleton with the legs contracted, the skull of which had fallen between the knees.
2 Around 1814 some labourers who were digging for limestone discovered a well or circular cist, about 2.1m deep, at the bottom of which were deposited three Roman urns, filled with burnt bones. About fourteen to fifteen years before 1874 a Roman quern was found hereabouts.
3 An illustration of the area around Church Lawford shows the place where Roman remains were found.
5 The urns were destroyed, according to Bloxam, with the exception of one, which was preserved at Holbrook Grange.
6 Noted by Ordnance Survey.
 
Sources
Source No: 5
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: RSNHS
Author/originator: Bloxam M H
Date: 1884
Page Number: 6
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: RSNHS
Author/originator: Knowles L
Date: 1874
Page Number: 35-7
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Fragmenta Sepulchralia
Author/originator: Bloxam M H
Date: 1857
Page Number: 20
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Plan
Title: RSNHS
Author/originator: Kerr C
Date: 1875
Page Number: Plate 6
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 15SW23
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1955
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 15SW23
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 6
Author/originator: Bloxam M H
Date: 1875
Page Number: 25-38
Volume/Sheet: 6
   
Images:  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source OS Card Ordnance Survey Record Card. Before the 1970s the Ordnance Survey (OS) were responsible for recording archaeological monuments during mapping exercises. This helped the Ordnance Survey to decide which monuments to publish on maps. During these exercises the details of the monuments were written down on record cards. Copies of some of the cards are kept at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. The responsibility for recording archaeological monuments later passed to the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments. back
source TBAS Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society is a journal produced by the society annually. It contains articles about archaeological field work that has taken place in Birmingham and Warwickshire in previous years. Copies of the journal are kept by the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
technique excavation Archaeologists excavate sites so that they can find information and recover archaeological materials before they are destroyed by erosion, construction or changes in land-use.

Depending on how complicated and widespread the archaeological deposits are, excavation can be done by hand or with heavy machinery. Archaeologists may excavate a site in a number of ways; either by open area excavation, by digging a test pit or a trial trench.
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period Roman About 43 AD to 409 AD (the 1st century AD to the 5th century AD)

The Roman period comes after the Iron Age and before the Saxon period.

The Roman period in Britain began in 43 AD when a Roman commander called Aulus Plautius invaded the south coast, near Kent. There were a series of skirmishes with the native Britons, who were defeated. In the months that followed, more Roman troops arrived and slowly moved westwards and northwards.
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monument CREMATION * A funeral rite in which the human body is burnt, usually on a pyre, leaving fragmentary charred or completely combusted remains. Often found buried, occasionally in a container associated with grave goods. back
monument GRANGE * An outlying farm or estate, usually belonging to a religious order or feudal lord. Specifically related to core buildings and structures associated with monastic land holding. Use specific term where known. back
monument INHUMATION * An interment of unburnt, articulated human remains. Use specific type where known. back
monument URN * A garden ornament, usually of stone or metal, designed in the the form of a vase used to receive the ashes of the dead. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument WELL * A shaft or pit dug in the ground over a supply of spring-water. back
monument BURIAL * An interment of human or animal remains. Use specific type where known. If component use with wider site type. Use FUNERARY SITE for optimum retrieval in searches. back
monument CIST * Generally rectangular structure normally used for burial purposes, and formed from stone slabs set on edge, and covered by one or more horizontal slabs or capstones. Cists may be built on the surface or sunk into the ground. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record