Information for record number MWA5323:
Site of Roman Settlement to N of Caves Inn Farm

Summary The site of a Roman settlement. The settlement may include a cemetery. A burial was found during an excavation. The boundary of the north west corner of the settlement is marked by a bank visible as an earthwork. The site is located 1km south west of Shawell.
What Is It?  
Type: Settlement, Pit, Cemetery, Bank (Earthwork)
Period: Romano-British (43 AD - 409 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Churchover
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 53 79
(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 A little close adjoining the farmhouse on the N, and containing about 1.25 ha, the surface of which is very irregular, excavations for gravel having been made intermittently over the last 50 years. These have uncovered vast quantities of Roman pottery, a brooch, a stylus, window glass, a bone counter, a spindle whorl, three coins and a quern. A stone-lined well-shaped cist was also found. Between one third and one fourth of the close has been quarried.
2 Some pottery and animal bone was found in the face of a small quarry in the close. 1939: A trial trench was dug on the W of the pit. This was 1.8m long and indicated that the Roman levels were disturbed. Surrounding the pit on two sides within the close is what might have been the remains of a rectangular encampment consisting of a bank about 0.6m high with no ditch to either side. In a mound nearby human remains were found.
4 The field N of Caves Inn Farm contains what is apparently the NW angle of the Roman 'station'. The remainder of the field has been disturbed by gravel digging. Scheduled as Warwickshire Monument No 197.
5 Scheduling information.
6 Archaeological evaluation (EWA7311) adjacent to and within the Scheduled area of Tripontium Roman Station demonstrated that post-medieval gravel quarrying was extensive across the whole area of the evaluation. Small areas of natural sand and gravel had survived, however, no earlier archaeological remains were present. A quantity of redeposited Roman finds, including pottery, tile and a fragment of quern stone were retrieved, perhaps derived from Roman deposits that had been destroyed by the quarrying.
7 See MWA2788 for further references to Tripontium.
 
Sources
Source No: 4
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: AM7
Author/originator: DoE
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Proc Soc Antiq
Author/originator: Bloxam M H
Date:
Page Number: 324
Volume/Sheet: 8
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: RSNHS
Author/originator: Tanner R
Date: 1939
Page Number: 30
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 6, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Salzman L F (ed)
Date: 1951
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: VI
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Evaluation Report
Title: Evaluation at the Site of Tripontium Roman Station (SAM 097), Churchover, Rugby, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Morris S
Date: 2002
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Plan
Title: RSNHS
Author/originator: Tanner R
Date: 1939
Page Number: 25
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: SAM list
Author/originator: DoE
Date: 1985
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Pers. Comm. Giles Carey
Author/originator: G Carey
Date: 2009-2014
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
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 SAM List Scheduled Ancient Monument List. A list or schedule of archaelogical and historic monuments that are considered to be of national importance. The list contains a detailed description of each Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM) and a map showing their location and extent. By being placed on the schedule, SAMs are protected by law from any unauthorised distrubance. The list has been compiled and is maintained by English Heritage. It is updated periodically. back
technique Earthwork Earthworks can take the form of banks, ditches and mounds. They are usually created for a specific purpose. A bank, for example, might be the remains of a boundary between two or more fields. Some earthworks may be all that remains of a collapsed building, for example, the grassed-over remains of building foundations.

In the winter, when the sun is lower in the sky than during the other seasons, earthworks have larger shadows. From the air, archaeologists are able to see the patterns of the earthworks more easily. Earthworks can sometimes be confusing when viewed at ground level, but from above, the general plan is much clearer.

Archaeologists often carry out an aerial survey or an earthwork survey to help them understand the lumps and bumps they can see on the ground.
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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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technique Trial Trench A small regular hole that is usually square or rectangular in shape. Archaeologists dig trial trenches to discover if there are any archaeological remains at a particular location. See also excavation. 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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period Medieval 1066 AD to 1539 AD (the 11th century AD to the 16th century AD)

The medieval period comes after the Saxon period and before the post medieval period.

The Medieval period begins in 1066 AD.
This was the year that the Normans, led by William the Conqueror (1066 – 1087), invaded England and defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in East Sussex.
The Medieval period includes the first half of the Tudor period (1485 – 1603 AD), when the Tudor family reigned in England and eventually in Scotland too.

The end of the Medieval period is marked by Henry VIII’s (1509 – 1547) order for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the years running up to 1539 AD. The whole of this period is sometimes called the Middle Ages.
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monument INN * A public house for the lodging and entertainment of travellers, etc. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument CAVE * A subterranean feature entered from a hillside, cliff face, etc. A cave may have been used for occupation, storage, burial, refuse, or as a hide-away. Index with site type or objects where known. back
monument STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. back
monument BOUNDARY * The limit to an area as defined on a map or by a marker of some form, eg. BOUNDARY WALL. Use specific type where known. back
monument FARMHOUSE * The main dwelling-house of a farm, it can be either detached from or attached to the working buildings. 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 FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument CEMETERY * An area of ground, set apart for the burial of the dead. 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 BURIAL * An interment of human or animal remains. Use specific type where known. If component use with wider site type. Use FUNERARY SITE for optimum retrieval in searches. back
monument HUMAN REMAINS * The unarticulated remains of the body of a human being. If articulated use inhumation. back
monument QUARRY * An excavation from which stone for building and other functions, is obtained by cutting, blasting, etc. back
monument MOUND * A natural or artificial elevation of earth or stones, such as the earth heaped upon a grave. Use more specific type where known. back
monument FARM * A tract of land, often including a farmhouse and ancillary buildings, used for the purpose of cultivation and the rearing of livestock, etc. Use more specific type where known. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back
monument CIST * Generally rectangular structure normally used for burial purposes, and formed from stone slabs set on edge, and covered by one or more horizontal slabs or capstones. Cists may be built on the surface or sunk into the ground. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record