Information for record number MWA4161:
Enclosure or field boundary E of Meranti Lodge

Summary An enclosure of Roman date may be part of a larger field system. The features are visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs and are situated 500m south east of the church at Clifton upon Dunsmore.
What Is It?  
Type: Field System, Field Boundary, Enclosure
Period: Romano-British (43 AD - 409 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Clifton on Dunsmore
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 53 76
(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 sub-circular enclosure shows on air photographs.
2 The field was planted with a potato crop, and nothing was visible on the surface.
3 Another cropmark at SP536762 may indicated the site of a gravel pit which is recorded on a tithe map of 1851.
4 A desk based study and trial excavation were carried out ahead of proposed development in April 1988. The excavation revealed a single ditch forming the north-western element of the enclosure. The artefactual assemblage suggested a second to third century date for its use and abandonment. The ditch could represent the western side of a Roman field, possibly associated with a farmstead or farmsteads located to the NE and SE in the vicinity of cropmarks WA 4163 and WA 6809.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP4168
Author/originator: J Pickering
Date: 1976
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: SP4168-A
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Evaluation Report
Title: Archaeological Evaluation at Land off South Road, Clifton-upon-Dunsmore
Author/originator: Northamptonshire Archaeology
Date: 1998
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Map
Title: Clifton on Dunsmore
Author/originator:
Date: 1851
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Site Visit
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: Pehrson B
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
back to top

Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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
technique Cropmark Cropmarks appear as light and dark marks in growing and ripening crops. These marks relate to differences in the soil below. For example, parched lines of grass may indicate stone walls. Crops that grow over stone features often ripen more quickly and are shorter than the surrounding crop. This is because there is less moisture in the soil where the wall lies.

more -> 		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.
more -> 		back
technique Aerial Photograph Aerial photographs are taken during an aerial survey, which involves looking at the ground from above. It is usually easier to see cropmarks and earthworks when they are viewed from above. Aerial photographs help archaeologists to record what they see and to identify new sites. There are two kinds of aerial photographs; oblique and vertical. back
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.
more -> 		back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument CIRCULAR ENCLOSURE * A circular shaped area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or similar barrier. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument FARMSTEAD * The homestead of a farm consisting of a farmhouse and working farm buildings, with yards, other working areas and usually a garden to the house. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument FIELD SYSTEM * A group or complex of fields which appear to form a coherent whole. Use more specific type where known. back
monument GRAVEL PIT * A steep-sided pit formed by, and for, the extraction of gravel. back
monument ENCLOSURE * An area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or other similar barrier. Use specific type where known. 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 FIELD BOUNDARY * The limit line of a field. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record