Information for record number MWA8666:
Saltway running east from Wellesbourne

Summary Part of an Early Medieval trackway known as the 'Saltway'. It is mentioned in a charter of 969 AD. It is part of a major routeway across the country heading east from Stratford upon Avon. It may have originated during the Roman period.
What Is It?  
Type: Trackway, Road
Period: Romano-British - Medieval (43 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Compton Verney
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 43 55
(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 Saltway (Sealt Straet) referred to in a charter of AD 956. This was part of a major cross country routeway running eastwards from Stratford.
2 Maps illustrating part of route.
3 Excavation of a trial trench (EWA7323, centred upon SP33795490) across the known saltway prior to the Excavation of 'send and receive' pits for a new gas pipeline revealed a cambered rubble road surface. No associated dating evidence was recovered. It was likely that this represented a late reconstruction of the original track.
4 Dating confirmed as Romano British to Medieval.
5 Continuation of the saltway through the parish of Watergall added to the GIS
 
Sources
Source No: 3
Source Type: Evaluation Report
Title: Archaeological Recording of an Early Trackway at Heath Farm, Lighthorne, Warwickshire.
Author/originator: Titley A
Date: 2003
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Report No 0327
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Map
Title: Historic Landscape Assessment Routeway Maps
Author/originator: Hooke D
Date: 1999
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Historic Landscape Assessment
Author/originator: Hooke D
Date: 1999
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Aggregates Assessment
Author/originator: Stuart Palmer
Date: 2006
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Report of the continuation of the 'Saltway'
Author/originator: Bolton J
Date: 2011
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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 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 PIPELINE * A conduit or pipes, used primarily for conveying petroleum from oil wells to a refinery, or for supplying water to a town or district, etc. back
monument TRACKWAY * A pathway, not necessarily designed as such, beaten down by the feet of travellers. 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 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

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record