Romano-British settlement 200m west of Allington Hill

Reasons for Designation

During the Roman period, particularly during the second century AD, the Fenland silts around the Wash and areas on and close to the margins of the peat fens were extensively and often densely occupied and farmed. Rural settlements were small, comprising individual farmsteads or, more often, groups of several farmsteads organised in small villages which, with their associated field systems, were aligned along droves. The earliest of such settlements, which are dated to the later first century AD, are generally very small and differ little in general appearance from certain settlements of the preceding Iron Age, although Iron Age settlements in the Fenland region are not so numerous or widespread. During the second century, when small and large-scale engineering projects, including the construction of roads and canals, were carried out widely in the Fens, the size and complexity of the settlements tended to increase and the layout of droves and fields to become more regular. Numerous Roman settlements of this type, with their associated field systems, have been recorded in the Fens, particularly through air photography, and they serve to illustrate both the nature of small-scale farming during the period of the Roman occupation and the ways in which a local population adapted to and exploited a particular environment. Many of the sites have, however, been reduced by medieval and later agriculture, and very few remain with upstanding earthworks, with a varied range of identifiable features and/or evidence for the survival of environmental remains. Consequently, all sites which survive as earthworks or which have a varied range of identifiable features are considered to be of national importance. The Romano-British settlement to the west of Allington Hill is a relatively well preserved example. The cropmarks indicate survival of significant archaeological deposits as well as a diversity of remains. This site will add to our knowledge and understanding of Romano-British settlement in the area and the social and economic structure of the community within the wider landscape.

Details

This monument includes the buried remains of a Romano-British settlement situated on a gentle north west facing slope overlooking Bottisham. The site is known from a series of crop marks, including a rectangular ditched enclosure orientated north west to south east, with a small, almost square, enclosure in the north eastern corner, and traces of other internal sub-divisions. In the centre is a slightly sunken area which shows as an irregular mark on aerial photographs and possibly represents the site of a building. Large quantities of Romano-British pottery, including mortaria, apparently of the 3rd and 4th centuries have been found on the site.

Sources: NMR TL55NE10; Mon No 374383; Cambs HER 6834

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

CB 72

Legacy System:

RSM - OCN

End of official list entry

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