Information for record number MWA4486:
Excavation of Roman Building, Bleachfield Allotment

Summary Part of a Roman building was excavated and finds from the site included Roman pottery and coins. The site was located in the area of Birch Abbey, Alcester.
What Is It?  
Type: Building, Findspot
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 A stretch of the E-W road was uncovered. This had subsequently been built on and six rooms of a large building were exposed. It was of corridor type with good quality concrete floors and decorated plaster walls. On one gravel floor was a quantity of burnt grain, while a well has yielded material of the C3-C4. Three pits in the earliest occupation layer yielded Samian and coarse wares dating from AD 70-120. A resistivity survey indicates further extensive remains in this area.
2 A further resistivity survey located a stone-lined well which yielded C3-C4 pottery, coins and wood. A series of pits are C1-C2 in date. A wing indicates that the building is a winged corridor. A worn coin of Honorius indicates occupation into the C5.
3 A further portion of the large building was exposed.
4 Work was completed on the winged corridor building. The main building was exposed almost completely and was 7m internally and 24m long. Two slighter cross walls probably indicated timber partitions. Between the cross walls the roof had been carried on eight posts. The wings and corridor could have been a later addition.
5 Site no 25 in list.
 
Sources
Source No: 5
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: WM
Author/originator: PMB
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Roman Alcester
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Excavation Report
Title: WMANS
Author/originator: HVH
Date: 1962
Page Number: 4
Volume/Sheet: 5
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Excavation Report
Title: WMANS
Author/originator: HVH
Date: 1960
Page Number: 3
Volume/Sheet: 3
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Excavation Report
Title: WMANS
Author/originator: HVH
Date: 1961
Page Number: 3
Volume/Sheet: 4
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Excavation Report
Title: WMANS
Author/originator: HVH
Date: 1964
Page Number: 5
Volume/Sheet: 7
   
Images:  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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
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 Resistivity Survey A resistivity survey measures the electrical resistance of the soil and any buried features within it. Where there are buried pits and ditches, there is less resistance to the flow of electricity. Where there are archaeological remains made from stone, for example a wall, the resistance is greater. These differences in resistance are measured and recorded by archaeologists using a resistivity meter. The measurements can then be used to plot features that exist below the ground. See also geophysical survey. 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.
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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 STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. back
monument FLOOR * A layer of stone, brick or boards, etc, on which people tread. Use broader site type where known. back
monument FINDSPOT * The approximate location at which stray finds of artefacts were found. Index with object name. back
monument ABBEY * A religious house governed by an abbot or abbess. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, MONASTERY or NUNNERY. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. 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 WOOD * A tract of land with trees, sometimes acting as a boundary or barrier, usually smaller and less wild than a forest. back
monument CROSS * A free-standing structure, in the form of a cross (+), symbolizing the structure on which Jesus Christ was crucified and sacred to the Christian faith. Use specific type where known. back
monument WALL * An enclosing structure composed of bricks, stones or similar materials, laid in courses. Use specific type where known. back
monument OCCUPATION LAYER * A layer of remains left by a single culture, from which the culture can be dated or identified. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record