Lowland Barn Romano-British farmstead 200m north west of Bury Hill

Reasons for Designation

Romano-British farmsteads are small agricultural units comprising groups of up to four circular or rectangular houses along with associated structures which may include wells, storage pits, corn-drying ovens and granary stores. These were sometimes constructed within a yard surrounded by a rectangular or curvilinear enclosure, and associated field systems, trackways and cemeteries may be located nearby. Most Romano-British farmsteads in south east England have been discovered by the analysis of aerial photographs. They usually survive in the form of buried features visible as crop and soil marks and occasionally as low earthworks. Often situated on marginal agricultural land and found throughout the British Isles, they date to the period of Roman occupation (c.AD 43-450). Romano-British farmsteads are generally regarded as low status settlements, with the members of one family or small kinship group pursuing a mixed farming economy. Excavation at these sites has shown a marked continuity with later prehistoric settlements. There is little evidence of personal wealth and a limited uptake of the Romanised way of life. Romano- British farmsteads occur throughout southern England, but cluster on the chalk downland of Wessex, Sussex and Kent. As the most representative form of rural settlement in the region during the Roman period, all Romano-British farmsteads which have been positively identified and which have significant surviving remains will merit protection.

This Romano-British farmstead is known from aerial photographs to survive in buried form over the whole of its original area, and surface finds have confirmed that it will contain archaeological and environmental evidence relating to its construction, economy and the landscape in which it was built. It lies in an area known for its Iron Age occupation and will therefore be significant in developing an understanding of cultural change in the area in the late prehistoric to early Romano-British period.

Details

The monument includes a small rectangular enclosure representing a Romano- British farmstead situated c.500m south of the Lime Kiln Kennels and 200m north west of Bury Hill. It lies on a gently sloping hill c.1.3km north east of Knollbury Camp Iron Age hillfort. The site is no longer visible at ground level but is known from aerial photographs to have a rectangular ditched enclosure measuring c.100m from east to west and 70m from north to south, aligned roughly east to west. The ditch, which has become infilled over time, survives buried below the modern ground level and measures c.2m wide. There is a single entrance on the east side and this is similar in layout to the small `Ditchley type' villas, named after the site where they were first recognised. The interior is slightly smaller than that at Ditchley and is best described as a farm with its associated agricultural economy, rather than as a villa in the sense of a large country house. Within the enclosure would have been a hedge or wall surrounding a main house, as well as ancillary buildings. Surface finds of pottery from the area of the enclosure are Romano-British in date and many of these are stored in the Ashmolean museum.

MAP EXTRACT The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract. It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features, considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

28162

Legacy System:

RSM

Sources

Other
PRN 1555, C.A.O., Lowland Barn Rectangular enclosure, (1993)

End of official list entry

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