Reasons for Designation
Romano-British aggregate villages are nucleated settlements formed by groups
of five or more subsistence level farmsteads enclosed either indivdually or
collectively, or with no formal boundary. Most enclosures, where they occur,
are formed by curvilinear walls or banks, sometimes surrounded by ditches, and
the dwellings are usually associated with pits, stock enclosures, cultivation
plots and field systems, indicating a mixed farming economy. In use throughout
the Roman period (c.43-450 AD), they often occupied sites of earlier
agricultural settlements.
Romano-British aggregate villages are a very rare monument type with examples
recorded in the north of England and on the chalk downlands of Wessex and
Sussex. Their degree of survival will depend upon the intensity of subsequent
land use. In view of their rarity, all positively identified examples with
surviving remains are considered to merit protection.
Details
The monument includes the buried remains of a small linear Roman settlement or
town which was established along a minor road running from the main London to
Silchester road which is situated less that 400m to the south.
A series of archaeological excavations and survey work has demonstrated that
the settlement was occupied throughout the Roman period and included a mixture
of dwellings, agricultural structures and small semi-industrial workshops. The
buried remains of a number of large, multi-roomed buildings with tiled roofs
have been identified. These were first built in the years immediately
following the Roman invasion of AD 43 and the building of the main road. It is
likely that the settlement expanded because of its association with trade
along the road, and it may have had an official mansio building where
messengers and imperial officials could stop to rest or change horses. Large
quantities of pottery, a brooch and other artefacts suggest a series of
successive phases of occupation well into the 4th century AD.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
28176
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Other
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
