Information for record number MWA5501:
Excavation of Iron Age Settlement at Wasperton

Summary The site of five settlements dating to the Iron Age were discovered during excavation. Enclosures, ditches, post holes, hearths and pit clusters were found along with an inscribed stone and pieces of antler. The site is located south of Wasperton.
What Is It?  
Type: Settlement, Enclosure, Ditch, Pit Cluster, Post Hole, Hearth
Period: Iron Age (800 BC - 42 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Wasperton
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 26 58
(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
Picture(s) attached

 
Description

 
Source Number  

1 Excavation undertaken between 1980 and 1985 in advance of gravel extraction. Settlement 1 was a sub-square enclosure with sides approximately 50m in length and a single entrance central to the south-east side. The enclosure ditch had a steep V-shaped profile and was approximately 2.5m wide and 2.5m deep. With an internal bank this would have been a formidable structure. It was later replaced by a larger enclosure retaining the south-east entrance. This was a slighter ditch with other associated ditches and post holes. More than half of the interior could not be investigated, but a hut circle, hearth, pits and post holes were noted. Settlement 2 consisted of a series of recut rectilinear enclosures with a cluster of pits. A small round hut was cut by the enclosure ditches. Settlement 3 was an enclosure measuring c75 by 60m. It was subdivided and contained a single hut. The enclosure ditch was a narrow shallow gully. Associated was a group of 42 pits. Settlement 4 consisted of two rectangular enclosures, a `working hollow' and a number of pits. Settlement 5 comprised an unenclosed hut circle and over 45 pits. Settlement 6 comprised a single post-built hut. Thermoluminescence dates have been commissioned. No clear typology exists for the pottery which constitutes the most numerous class of artefacts.
4 The TL dates may indicate that the Settlements were occupied in sequence rather than being occupied at one time.
8 In 1980-1 ten small ovens found by U-shaped field ditch 1.5m deep. A pit yielded a roughly-squared slab of local sandstone crudely inscribed FELICITER; above this was heavily burned material embracing two sets of unburned antlers with parts of the skulls still attached to form a square.
9 The site is no longer a Scheduled Monument having been descheduled during April 2016.
1 /Desc Text /GC / /BUFAU /Wasperton 1 / /WMBFI 1845 /Y /
2 /Desc Text / / /DoE /AM7 / /WMBFI 1845 /Y /
3 /AP Plot / / /RCHM / / /WMB /Y /
4 /Pers Com /Buteaux S /1988 / / / / / /
5 /Plan / / /BUFAU / / /WMBFI 1845 /Y /
6 /Desc Text / /1983 /DoE /SAM Local Plan /3 /WMB /Y /
7 /Desc Text /NJP /1982 /Britannia /vol 13 /p361 /WMB /Y /
8 /Desc Text /NJP /1984 /Britannia /vol 15 /p296 /WMB /Y /
 
Sources

Source No: 3
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: Aerial photograph
Author/originator: RCHM
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
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: 8
Source Type: Article in serial
Title: Britannia: Roman Britain in 1983
Author/originator: S S Frere, MWC Hassall and R S O Tomlin
Date: 1984
Page Number: 265-356
Volume/Sheet: 15
   
Source No: 9
Source Type: Statuatory List
Title: National Heritage List for England
Author/originator: Historic England
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Plan
Title: Wasperton
Author/originator: BUFAU
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Wasperton
Author/originator: DoE
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: AM7
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: DoE
Author/originator:
Date: 1983
Page Number: 3
Volume/Sheet: SAM Local Plan
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Unpublished document
Author/originator: Buteaux S
Date: 1988
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Wasperton
Author/originator: G.Crawford BUFAU
Date: 1980s
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Wasperton 1
   
Images:  
Plan of several Iron Age settlements, Wasperton
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1996
Click here for larger image  
 
A reconstruction of an Iron Age settlement at Wasperton
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Click here for larger image  
 
Iron Age settlements visible as cropmarks to the south of Wasperton
Copyright: WA Baker
Click here for larger image  
 
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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 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
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 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 Iron Age About 800 BC to 43 AD

The Iron Age comes after the Bronze Age and before the Roman period. It is a time when people developed the skills and knowledge to work and use iron, hence the name ‘Iron Age’ which is given to this period. Iron is a much tougher and more durable metal than bronze but it also requires more skill to make objects from it. People continued to use bronze during this period.
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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 HOLLOW * A hollow, concave formation or place, which has sometimes been dug out. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument OVEN * A brick, stone or iron receptacle for baking bread or other food in. back
monument RECTILINEAR ENCLOSURE * A monument consisting of an area of land enclosed by a ditch, bank, wall, palisade or similar barrier, where the barrier consists of several straight or near straight sections. back
monument INSCRIBED STONE * An early Medieval commemorative monument in the form of a stone which has been inscribed with symbols. back
monument RECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE * A rectangular shaped area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or similar barrier. back
monument GULLY * A deep gutter, drain or sink. back
monument PIT CLUSTER * A spatially discrete group of pits usually containing artefactual material with little or no accompanying evidence for structural features. 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 HEARTH * The slab or place on which a fire is made. back
monument HUT * A building of basic construction, usually smaller in size than a house and constructed from a variety of materials such as mud, turf, branches, wood, brick, concrete or metal. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SQUARE ENCLOSURE * A square shaped area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or similar barrier. Small square enclosures (with sides of less than c.20m) have been interpreted as the remains of square barrows of Iron Age date. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. 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 SQUARE * An open space or area, usually square in plan, in a town or city, enclosed by residential and/or commercial buildings, frequently containing a garden or laid out with trees. back
monument HUT CIRCLE * A round house indicated by the presence of a low, roughly circular bank of turf, earth or stone, which formed the base of the walls. Characteristic of the later prehistoric period. Where several occur together use HUT CIRCLE SETTLEMENT. back
monument STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. back
monument ROUND * A small, Iron Age/Romano-British enclosed settlement found in South West England. back
monument POST HOLE * A hole dug to provide a firm base for an upright post, often with stone packing. Use broader monument type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record