Information for record number MWA3678:
Site of Venonae Roman Settlement at High Cross

Summary The site of the Roman Settlement of Venonae. There are currently no remains visible above ground but fragments of Roman pottery, tile and bone have been found at the site. It is situated at High Cross.
What Is It?  
Type: Settlement
Period: Romano-British (43 AD - 409 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Copston Magna
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 47 88
(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: )
Scheduled Monument (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

 
Source Number  

1 This area of Roman Settlement centred on High Cross is scheduled under Leicestershire (no 136), but the scheduled area covers parts of the parishes of Wibtoft and Copston Magna.
2 There is presently no surface indication of the Settlement within the Warwickshire parishes.
3 Much apparently existed during the 16th century and 17th century. Dugdale, for example, remarks upon "large stones, Roman brick, with ovens and wells, coins of silver and brass" to be found there.
4
5 The excavations made here have been outside the Warwickshire area.
6 Two Leicestershire SMR cards (with incorrect Parish names and NGRs) report finds in this area just inside the border. These comprise a collection of pottery sherds including samian, mortaria, amphorae and greyware, bone, tile and slate. One of these SMR cards describes this collection over an area about 50m x 50m.
7 An archaeological watching brief undertaken in 1997 during the installation of electricity poles and stays at High Cross Roman town recorded no evidence of archaeological deposits or features. Please note: most of this watching brief was carried out over the border in Leicestershire.
 
Sources

Source No: 6
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Leicestershire SMR Card
Author/originator: Wassell D
Date: 1976-8
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Trans, Leics Arch & Hist Soc
Author/originator: Greenfield E & Webster G
Date: 1964-5
Page Number: 3-41
Volume/Sheet: 40
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Antiquities of Warwickshire
Author/originator: Dugdale W
Date: 1730
Page Number: 1065
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Statuatory List
Title: National Heritage List for England
Author/originator: Historic England
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Map
Title: Leics XLVIII NW
Author/originator:
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Observation Report
Title: An Archaeological Watching Brief during installation of electricity poles and stays at High Cross, Claybrooke Magna, Leicestershire
Author/originator: Warren, S
Date: 1997
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Serial
Title: WMANS no 21 1978
Author/originator:
Date: 1978
Page Number: 48-49
Volume/Sheet: 21
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Site Visit
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: Kilburn C D
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 3182
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
none Scheduled Monument Scheduled Ancient Monuments (SAMs) are those archaeological sites which are legally recognised as being of national importance. They can range in date from prehistoric times to the Cold War period. They can take many different forms, including disused buildings or sites surviving as earthworks or cropmarks.

SAMs are protected by law from unlicensed disturbance and metal detecting. Written consent from the Secretary of State must be obtained before any sort of work can begin, including archaeological work such as geophysical survey or archaeological excavation. There are nearly 200 SAMs in Warwickshire.
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source SMR Card Sites and Monuments Record Card. The Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record began to be developed during the 1970s. The details of individual archaeological sites and findspots were written on record cards. These record cards were used until the 1990s, when their details were entered on to a computerised system. The record cards are still kept at the office of the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
source WMANS West Midlands Archaeological News Sheet, a publication that was produced each year, this later became West Midlands Archaeology. The West Midlands Arcaheological News Sheet contains reports about archaeological work that was carried out in the West Midlands region in the previous year. It includes information about sites dating from the Prehistoric to the Post Medieval periods. It was produced the Department of Extramural Studies at Birmingham University. Copies are held at 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 SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument BORDER * A strip of ground forming a fringe to a garden. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument OVEN * A brick, stone or iron receptacle for baking bread or other food in. back
monument STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. back
monument ARCH * A structure over an opening usually formed of wedge-shaped blocks of brick or stone held together by mutual pressure and supported at the sides; they can also be formed from moulded concrete/ cast metal. A component; use for free-standing structure only. back
monument HIGH CROSS * A churchyard or memorial cross set on a long shaft. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument WELL * A shaft or pit dug in the ground over a supply of spring-water. back
monument TOWN * An assemblage of public and private buildings, larger than a village and having more complete and independent local government. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record