Information for record number MWA3791:
AL9 Bleachfield Street

Summary The remains of Roman buildings, a road and ditches were found during an excavation on Bleachfield Street, Alcester.
What Is It?  
Type: Settlement, Building, Road, Ditch
Period: Romano-British (43 AD - 409 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Alcester
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 08 57
(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 An excavation, 6m by 6m in area, in advance of a new house, found Romano British occupation of the C1 to the end of the C2, the earliest phase of which was pre-Flavian, possibly military. Evidence consisted of slight timber structures and one fragment of a large slot. This was sealed by a general layer of later C1/mid C2. There was also a road of mid C2 date, 2.5m wide and running E-W, and a roadside ditch. The latter was retained when the rest of the site was sealed by gravel layers/surfaces. Later Roman occupation was truncated by a C17 ditch running N-S through the middle of the site, and by C17-C20 features and finds.
2 Listed as site no 70.
4 Noted.
 
Sources
Source No: 3
Source Type: Article in serial
Title: Britannia: Roman Britain in 1981
Author/originator: N B Rankov, M W C Hassall and R S O Tomlin
Date: 1982
Page Number: 327-422
Volume/Sheet: 13
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: WM
Author/originator: PMB
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Roman Alcester
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 93 (1983-4)
Author/originator: Hooke, D (ed)
Date: 1989
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 93
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: PMB
Date: 1984
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 543
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source Britannia Britannia, the journal of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies which contains articles about the archaeology of Roman Britain. It is published annually and copies are held at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
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 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
source WM Warwickshire Museum Aerial Photograph Collection. A collection of oblique and vertical aerial photographs and taken by various organisations and individuals, including the Royal Airforce, The Potato Board, Warwickshire Museum. The collection is 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 LAYER * An archaeological unit of soil in a horizontal plane which may seal features or be cut through by other features. back
monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. back
monument BLEACHFIELD * Large field or yard used to lay fabrics out ready for bleaching. back
monument DITCH * A long and narrow hollow or trench dug in the ground, often used to carry water though it may be dry for much of the year. back
monument STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record