Information for record number MWA5757:
Iron Age/Roman British settlement at Marsh Farm, Salford Priors.

Summary Evidence of Iron Age/ Romano British settlement uncovered during a series of evaluations and excavations. The site is located 600m to the east of Marsh Farm, Salford Priors.
What Is It?  
Type: Corn Drying Oven, Field System, Trackway, Building, Ditch, Enclosure, Curvilinear Enclosure, Hearth, Pit, Ring Ditch, Bath House, Cess Pit
Period: Iron Age - Romano-British (800 BC - 409 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Salford Priors
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 07 52
(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 Evaluation of a cropmark site in advance of quarrying was unable to clarify the status of trackways associated with a known Roman settlement, (SAM 162). Open area excavation revealed them to be parts of overlapping field systems of uncertain date. After removal of the ploughsoil, part of a late Iron Age settlement was uncovered at the eastern end of the site. A single house structure was represented by a pennanular gully, while several lengths of 'banana gully' containing heat cracked stones could be other houses or sheltered cooking places. A small Iron Age ring ditch protruded under the eastern edge of the excavation and was cut by a ditch which presumably enclosed further settlement to the south east.
2 An archaeological evaluation of this cropmark complex was carried out by the Warwickshire Museum in 1991. The features, representing the remains of settlement and a field system, appear to span the Iron Age and Romano British periods.
3 A second phase of evaluation was carried out in 1992. All the trial trenches with the exception of one contained archaeological remains. Many of these deposits showed a continuation of the types of feature met during the excavation of Phase 2. In several places the indications of aerial evidence were confirmed, and the presence of features not visible as cropmarks suggested a more intensive use of the site.
4 Two Roman coins from the 4th century found in, or before 1985 at SP07955188 which lies within this ditch area. The method of recovery was not recorded.
5 Evaluation in advance of road construction May/June 1993. At the southern end there was a large undated enclosure containing a surface scatter of Neolithic flintwork. In the central area was evidence of Roman British occupation (2nd-4th century) with quantities of painted plaster, roof and hypocaust tile suggesting a villa site within the scheduled area. To the north was an enclosure with material dating to the late Iron Age/early Roman period which related to features of this date excavated in the Marsh Farm quarry.
6 To the south (in area C2) a stone building not previously detected was investigated. Its NE corner survived as a single course of roughly dressed limestone. It had probably been aisled in plan. Two deep squared pits, one revetted with stone, connected by a stone lined drain, were revealed on its southern side. They were probably associated with water management. Another stone building, better preserved was found in area C1. The footings of a central partition divided the building in two. The eastern side had a loose laid stone floor with a large cess pit in the SE corner. The western side had an earth floor with a central hearth surrounded by post holes. The remains of a T-shaped corn drier were uncovered under the western half of the building.
7 Revision of the information given in the above entries: areas C 1-3: 2400 sq m uncovered exposing part of the late Iron Age field system on the western side. A 6.5 wide trackway appeared to be aligned N-S on the eastern side of this enclosure. A farmstead of two enclosures was identified to the south - short linear gullies with parallel rows of postholes may represent internal structures, but the same structures also occurred outside the enclosures. The excavation was extended to investigate the bath complex in area C2 and the 3rd-4th century stone building in area C3. Area C4 contained a large clay filled ditch of uncertain function containing abraded Romano British tile. Area C5 revealed the eastern side of the cropmark enclosure and a large pit and a small posthole, but there was no dating evidence. Limited quantities of high status pottery were found.
8 Further work during the watching brief (January-June 1994) established that a small bath complex had been inserted in the southern end of the aisled building in area C2. There were four rooms with sunken floors, of which three (on the western side) were heated, being connected by a central flue. The furnace and further unheated rooms were missing. The bath house went out of use in the Roman period; the roof and walls were robbed and the rooms backfilled with loose rubble, painted plaster, flue and roof tile fragments. Large enclosure ditches were cut through the building suggesting that this part of the site then reverted to agricultural use. To the northeast of the aisled building, the remains of an oven were also observed. A second year of excavations at Marsh Farm quarry took place in August September 1994. The site was found to be dominated by linear ditched trackways which align on the west side of the villa complex, and were probably used to control the livestock in and out of the villa/Farm complex.
9 excavation of Phase 4 at Marsh Farm quarry uncovered a far lower density of occupation than in Phase 2 to the south, suggesting that this area lay outside the main settlement. Only a single pit contained pottery and heat cracked stones and evidence of more than one fill. There was also only one example of the feature representing partial hut circles or wind breaks. The finds included pottery, flint daub, and an iron blade.
10
11
12
13 Crop mark evidence of enclosures, ring ditches and trackways evident on aerial photographs were mapped as part of the English Heritage National Mapping Project.
14 Portable Antiquities Scheme find provenance information: Date found: 2005-12-18T00:00:00Z Date found (2): 2006-01-18T00:00:00Z Methods of discovery: Metal detector.
15 A series of enclosed fields were fully in advance of gravel extraction to the north of the Schedule Monument area by Archaeology Warwickshire. These were defined by gullies defining rectilinear shapes measuring 60m to 80m north to south and 100m to 115m east to west. These fields appear to have had rounded corners, in part cut by a trackway. The field system was only partly revealed in this work and clearly extended beyond the limits of the large open-area excavations. A possible structure was recorded as slightly bowed gully 4.5m long in the eastern part of the field system and adjacent sub-circular pit. A series of pits were also recorded in this area and appear to have been used as a dump for waste material.
 
Sources
Source No: 10
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP0751 Frame 27
Author/originator: EH
Date: 20 Jul 2000
Page Number: Frame 27
Volume/Sheet: SP0751
   
Source No: 11
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP0752 Frame 15
Author/originator: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1962
Page Number: Frame 15
Volume/Sheet: SP0752
   
Source No: 12
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP0752 Frame 29
Author/originator: J Pickering
Date: 1 Jul 1984
Page Number: Frame 29
Volume/Sheet: SP0752
   
Source No: 13
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP0751 Frame 09
Author/originator: Baker A
Date: 11/07/1970
Page Number: Frame 09
Volume/Sheet: SP0751
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Museum Enquiry Form
Title: WMEF 282
Author/originator: Seaby W A & Pickin J
Date: 1985
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: E282
   
Source No: 9
Source Type: Excavation Report
Title: Marsh Farm Quarry, 3rd Interim Report. Extraction Phase 4
Author/originator: Palmer S
Date: 1994
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Excavation Report
Title: A435 Bypass: Excavations in the Arrow Valley: Interim Report and Post Excavation Proposal
Author/originator: Palmer S C
Date: 1994
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 15
Source Type: Excavation Report
Title: Iron Age and Romano-British Settlement at Marsh Farm Quarry, Salford Priors: Further Excavations in the Warwickshire Arrow Valley (1991-2000)
Author/originator: Palmer S
Date: 2010
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 0435
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Evaluation Report
Title: Marsh Farm Quarry, 2nd Interim Report Extraction Phase 4
Author/originator: Warwickshire Museum
Date: 1992
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Evaluation Report
Title: Archaeological Evaluation at Marsh Farm Quarry
Author/originator: WM
Date: 1991
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Evaluation Report
Title: A435 Bypass Phase 2 Part II: Archaeological Field Evaluations.
Author/originator: Palmer S C
Date: 1993
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 14
Source Type: Internet Data
Title: Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) Database
Author/originator: British Museum
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Serial
Title: WMA vol 36 (1993)
Author/originator: White, R (ed)
Date: 1994
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 36
   
Source No:
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol. 103
Author/originator: Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeology Society
Date: 2000
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 103
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Serial
Title: WMA vol 37 (1994)
Author/originator: White, R (ed)
Date: 1995
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 37
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Serial
Title: WMA vol 34 (1991)
Author/originator: Darlington, J (ed)
Date: 1992
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 34
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
back to top

Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source TBAS Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society is a journal produced by the society annually. It contains articles about archaeological field work that has taken place in Birmingham and Warwickshire in previous years. Copies of the journal are kept by the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
source WMA West Midlands Archaeology. This publication contains a short description for each of the sites where archaeological work has taken place in the previous year. It covers Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Worcestershire. Some of these descriptions include photographs, plans and drawings of the sites and/or the finds that have been discovered. The publication is produced by the Council For British Archaeology (CBA) West Midlands and is published annually. Copies are held at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
source WMEF Warwickshire Museum Enquiry Form. These are forms that are filled in when a person brings an object to Warwickshire Museum to be identified. Amongst the information recorded on the form are details such as a description of the object, where and when it was found, and in some cases a sketch or photographs of it. Copies of the form can be viewed at 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 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
technique Open Area Excavation When archaeologists carry out an open area excavation they uncover large areas for excavation. This technique is used on sites where archaeological deposits of a single period lie close to the surface of the ground. Open area excavation enables archaeologists to look at how artefacts and features of the same period relate to each other. 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 Neolithic About 4000 BC to 2351 BC

The word ‘Neolithic’ means ‘New Stone Age’. Archaeologists split up the Neolithic period into three phases; early, middle and late. The Neolithic period comes after the Mesolithic period and before the Bronze Age.

People in the Neolithic period hunted and gathered food as their ancestors had but they were also began to farm. They kept animals and grew crops. This meant that they were able to settle more permanently in one location instead of constantly moving from place to place to look for food.
more -> 		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.
more -> 		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 HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. 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 BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument CURVILINEAR ENCLOSURE * A monument consisting of an area of land enclosed by a ditch, bank, wall, palisade or similar barrier, where the boundary follows an irregular curving course. back
monument CORN DRYING OVEN * A heated stone, brick or iron chamber used for drying corn. back
monument STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. back
monument CESS PIT * A pit for the reception of night-soil and refuse. back
monument AISLED BUILDING * A building with an aisle along one or both sides. Usually a row of posts separates the main space from the aisle. back
monument FLOOR * A layer of stone, brick or boards, etc, on which people tread. Use broader site type where known. back
monument FEATURE * Areas of indeterminate function. back
monument FLUE * A passageway, duct or pipe use for the conveyance of heat, gasses, smoke or air. back
monument DRAIN * An artificial channel for draining water or carrying it off. back
monument GULLY * A deep gutter, drain or sink. back
monument BATH HOUSE * A building equipped with facilities for bathing, and occasionally public baths. 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 FURNACE * A chamber in which minerals, metals, etc, are subjected to the continuous action of intense heat. Use specific type where known. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. back
monument HYPOCAUST * A Roman under-floor heating system in which hot air heated by a stoked furnace, flowed through channels, created by either raising the floor on pillars of brick and tile or cutting channels into the concrete floor and tiling over them. 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 VILLA * A term for a type of house, with varying definitions according to period. Roman villas were high-status and usually associated with a rural estate, whereas Georgian and later period villas were often semi-detached, town houses. back
monument FIELD * An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of livestock. back
monument MUSEUM * A building, group of buildings or space within a building, where objects of value such as works of art, antiquities, scientific specimens, or other artefacts are housed and displayed. 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 ENCLOSURE * An area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or other similar barrier. Use specific type where known. back
monument RING DITCH * Circular or near circular ditches, usually seen as cropmarks. Use the term where the function is unknown. Ring ditches may be the remains of ploughed out round barrows, round houses, or of modern features such as searchlight emplacements. 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 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 MARSH * A low lying area of land that is usually waterlogged at all times and is flooded in wet weather. back
monument ROW * A row of buildings built during different periods, as opposed to a TERRACE. back
monument TRACKWAY * A pathway, not necessarily designed as such, beaten down by the feet of travellers. back
monument QUARRY * An excavation from which stone for building and other functions, is obtained by cutting, blasting, etc. 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 WALL * An enclosing structure composed of bricks, stones or similar materials, laid in courses. Use specific type where known. 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