Information for record number MWA4473:
Roman buildings & pit

Summary Evidence for Roman buildings and a pit was found during an excavation. The site was located in the area of Orchard Drive, Alcester.
What Is It?  
Type: Building, Pit
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 Mahany Birch Abbey Site A. Boundary ditch, rubbish pits etc. Site no 29.
2 A timber leather-working factory and a large pit containing leather offcuts, to the S of the town ditch. Between the tannery and the ditch were gullies, possibly for storm water. One waterlogged pit produced well-preserved beetle remains.
3 'Industrial area' - evidence for buildings, also the so-called 'leather pit', which was a pit with a muddy matrix and many fragments of leather. This was provisionally dated to the Antonine period. Also from this pit - a rich insect fauna. Insects indicate that this was originally a refuse pit and that later sweepings were thrown in from a leather goods factory.
 
Sources
Source No: 3
Source Type: Article in serial
Title: Britannia: An Insect Fauna from the Roman Site at Alcester, Warwickshire
Author/originator: P J Osborne
Date: 1971
Page Number: 156-65
Volume/Sheet: 2
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: WM
Author/originator: PMB
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Roman Alcester
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Unpublished document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 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 TANNERY * A manufacturing complex where the hides of animals are turned into leather, consisting of buildings for fleecing and drying, as well as treatment pits. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. 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 RUBBISH PIT * A pit where domestic waste material is deposited. back
monument TOWN DITCH * A ditch constructed to surround a town for defensive purposes. back
monument ABBEY * A religious house governed by an abbot or abbess. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, MONASTERY or NUNNERY. back
monument DRIVE * A road/carriage way giving access from the main road to the house, stables. back
monument BOUNDARY DITCH * A ditch that indicates the limit of an area or a piece of land. back
monument INDUSTRIAL * This is the top term for the class. See INDUSTRIAL Class List for narrow terms. back
monument PIT * A hole or cavity in the ground, either natural or the result of excavation. 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 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 ORCHARD * An enclosure used for the cultivation of fruit trees. back
monument FACTORY * A building or complex, housing powered machinery and employing a large workforce for manufacturing purposes. Use specific monument type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record