Information for record number MWA9652:
Undated building at 4 Meeting Lane, Alcester

Summary Three undated walls were recorded following the excavation of three test pits. The walls all appeared to join onto each other and may have represented three phases of building. The site was located at 4 Meeting Lane, Alcester.
What Is It?  
Type: Wall, Building
Period: Unknown
Where Is It?  
Parish: Alcester
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 09 57
(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 The excavation of three test pits by the owner prior to the construction of a new bedroom and conservatory uncovered three undated stone walls. Museum staff examined the remains. The walls all appeared to join onto each other. Two of the walls ran roughly parallel to the street frontage of Meeting Lane whilst one ran at right angles to it. They may have represented three phases of building. Unfortunately there were no finds which could be directly linked with the wall’s construction and so a date had to be estimated. The walls may have been medieval in date because of their orientation on Meeting Lane, which probably followed a medieval street alignment. They may have formed the foundations for a timber-framed building such as those that still exist in the lane today and are built on low walls. However, the great depth of the foundations and the position of the site within the Roman defences suggested a Roman date. Unstratified Roman building material was recovered from one of the test pits (see MWA 9662).
 
Sources
Source No: 1
Source Type: Watching Brief Report
Title: 4 Meeting Lane, Alcester
Author/originator: Gethin B & Newman R
Date: 2002
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
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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 Test Pit A small, exploratory excavation that helps archaeologists to find out how deep below the ground surface the archaeological layers extend. They are also dug to discover whether the topsoil contains particular concentrations of artefacts. Test pits are dug before a large excavation to determine a site's depth and contents. 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 CONSERVATORY * A glasshouse used to grow and display tender decorative plants. May be either an extension to a house or freestanding. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. 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 STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. 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 DEFENCE * This is the top term for the class. See DEFENCE Class List for narrow terms. back
monument WALL * An enclosing structure composed of bricks, stones or similar materials, laid in courses. Use specific type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record