Information for record number MWA6248:
Excavation of Watling Street

Summary The site of a section of the Roman road known as Watling Street which was excavated. The site is situated 400m south east of Witherley Bridge, Mancetter.
What Is It?  
Type: Road, Ditch
Period: Romano-British (43 AD - 409 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Mancetter
District: North Warwickshire, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 32 96
(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 1954-5: Construction of a sewage trench revealed a section across Watling Street indicating an early road with a 3.96m interval between two ditches 0.61m wide and 1.2m deep from the centre surface of the road. The metalling consisted of gravel and some pitched stone 0.61m thick at its maximum point. The ditches appear to have gone out of use by c. 70AD. The road lay about 4.6m S of its present line and was later widened to about 7.6m by the addition of further pitching at a higher level. This widening was on the S side. By the mid 3rd century the later road was out of use, for a rubbish pit was cut through it. It was perhaps after this date that the present line was established.
2 Plan.
3 1964 Excavations. Site A; a small trench was excavated near the centre of the settlement, opposite to the Bull Inn. This showed the metalling of what was probably a N-S road of uncertain width. Only the top surface of the road was uncovered. Site C; a trench was cut behind the eastern defences. It revealed a continuous E-W road surface, sloping downwards towards the north. There was not time to extend the Excavation to find the limits of the metalling or to excavate more than the top two layers, but the suggestion is that, at any rate in one of its phases, Watling Street lay rather to the north of its present line.
4 Plan of Site B and C.
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Excavation Report
Title: TBAS vol 74
Author/originator: Oswald A, Gathercole P W
Date: 1956
Page Number: 32
Volume/Sheet: 74
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Plan
Title: TBAS vol 84
Author/originator: Mahany C
Date: 1970
Page Number: Fig 2
Volume/Sheet: 84
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Plan
Title: TBAS vol 74
Author/originator: Oswald A, Gathercole P W
Date: 1956
Page Number: Fig 1
Volume/Sheet: 74
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 84
Author/originator: Mahany C
Date: 1970
Page Number: 20-21
Volume/Sheet: 84
   
Images:  
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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 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
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 INN * A public house for the lodging and entertainment of travellers, etc. back
monument LAYER * An archaeological unit of soil in a horizontal plane which may seal features or be cut through by other features. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument SETTLEMENT * A small concentration of dwellings. back
monument RUBBISH PIT * A pit where domestic waste material is deposited. back
monument STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. back
monument ROAD * A way between different places, used by horses, travellers on foot and vehicles. back
monument DEFENCE * This is the top term for the class. See DEFENCE Class List for narrow terms. back
monument BRIDGE * A structure of wood, stone, iron, brick or concrete, etc, with one or more intervals under it to span a river or other space. Use specific type where known. back
monument TRENCH * An excavation used as a means of concealment, protection or both. 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

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record