Summary
Three groups of wooden piles comprising two piers and a revetment in the tidal mud of the River Itchen.
Reasons for Designation
The Roman piers and revetment in the River Itchen are scheduled for the following principal reasons:
* Rarity: the revetment is a very rare site type with very few examples surviving outside London; the find of a Roman pier not associated with a bridge structure is perhaps unique in this country;
* Potential: the piers in the River Itchen have the potential for further study for the structures themselves, for the pottery associated with the structures and for the information which can be gained about Roman activity in Southern England at this time;
* Survival: as waterlogged deposits the piles of the revetment and piers survive well;
* Documentation: these Roman structures are well documented through survey with individual sizes of piles and location recorded;
* Group value: the piers and revetment have group value with other Roman sites in the vicinity including those on the west bank in St Denys and Clausentum on the east bank of the River Itchen.
History
Roman engineers were renowned for their accomplishments as evidenced by the construction of aqueducts, bridges and the networks of Roman roads. Roman engineers were also well versed in the construction of stone and timber abutments and piers for their bridge foundations. Water transport in the Roman period was facilitated by the construction of harbours, wharfs and piers.
Piers are designed to provide landing places with sufficient depth of water alongside to accommodate vessels over part of the tidal cycle. By their nature piers tend to occur in proximity to centres of trade, usually in locations already sheltered to some extent by natural features. Basic elements of piers may include piles and platforms built up and out along a part of the coast or riverside that is naturally deep or artificially dredged.
They provide valuable sources of information on patterns of earlier trade, transport and settlement: their development shows clearly the relationship between economic forces and technological development in adapting the natural landscape to communities' needs.
The quantity of imported material discovered during archaeological investigation on land indicates the amount of cross-Channel trade taking place before the Roman conquest in AD 43. This continued and increased into the Roman period proper. Although very few Roman ships have been discovered, considering the 460 or so years of Roman contact with Britain, those found do seem to show a range of vessels adapted for a specific use. An example of this is the scheduled C2 'shallow, open, beamy vessel' found in 1958 within a silted creek of Roman date at New Guy's House, Bermondsey, London (NHLE 1001979) which was clearly a river barge. Therefore it is quite conceivable that seagoing ships were bringing cargoes to river ports and the cargoes were then transported onwards by both land and river transport via piers such as those in the River Itchen.
INVESTIGATION
The site was first discovered in 1998 by Dr Russel of the Southampton City Council Archaeology Unit. He was told of an area of intertidal mud, known locally as 'The Causeway', which had produced a human skull some 50 years before. On visiting the site he saw a large number of piles protruding from the mud, and Roman pottery and ceramic building material on the surface. A wood sample from the piles produced a date of between 20 BC and AD 318 with 95.4% probability.
Following on from the discovery an archaeological survey was carried out as part of the wider Itchen Foreshore Community Project in 1998-9 to determine the extent of the structure, record the timbers and recover any finds.
PIERS
The remains of two piers were found. The first sat furthest out from the N river bank and was set at right angles to it. It was well made with squared piles. The width of the pier is 7.5m and appears to be too wide for a bridge, although Caesar's bridge across the River Rhine is thought to have been between 7m and 9m wide. On the upstream side of this pier is a second pier, less well built and of smaller piles. Some planking fragments found in association are thought to be the pier's decking. Further to the NE and closest to the shore was found a stretch of what was interpreted as riverside revetment, although it may be the remains of a third pier. A pile from each row of the oak revetment was shown to have originated in a tree cut down in spring AD 201. The present position of the piers, at some distance from the shore, indicates that the River Itchen was narrower in the Roman period. However, the Rev E Kell's discovery of a Roman jetty on the E bank of the river might suggest that the piers were always at a distance from the W bank in order to take account of the main channel which runs closer to the E bank. It is thought that the sea level has risen by about 1m since Roman times so that at high tide there would have been about 1.7m of water around the piers which would have been deep enough for large Roman vessels to access the piers.
POTTERY
50 sherds of pottery were found amongst the piles. Six sherds were imports and 44 Romano-British wares. They could have come from cargo ships plying continental trade and, more locally, from ferry trade from one side of the Itchen to the other. However, the presence of some Samian and amphora used to carry wine and olives suggests the pier was at least in part employed in international trade. The pottery was dated to the late C1 to C3/C4.
THE CONTEXT OF THE PIERS
The piers lie adjacent to a Roman settlement which lies on the W bank of the River Itchen at St Denys, and opposite the Roman town of Clausentum on the E bank.
At St Denys Roman material from two sites included stone paving, building debris, a ditch and several pits showing evidence of a settlement. Pottery from this area indicates that the Roman presence here in the early period became more intensive from the second half of the C3 to the late C4 or early C5. A third site at St Denys produced evidence of iron-working during the C1 and C2 in association with which was evidence of timber framed buildings and a road running parallel to the river. To the rear of Priory Road in St Denys, in the tidal mud behind Nos 64, limestone slabs were found set on wooden logs associated with Roman roofing tile and Samian ware. In the same area, behind No 78, 4 or 5 fossilised birch posts were found on the same line as the limestone slabs.
The area of the Bitterne Manor peninsula on the E bank of the River Itchen, opposite the piers, has been identified with the Roman town of Clausentum in the Antonine Itinerary. The Antonine Itinerary is a document which lists the Roman stations, and distances between them, on the Roman road network. It is thought to have been compiled in the C3 or C4 although based on earlier records. A number of excavations and finds have been made in the area of the Bitterne Manor here since the mid-C18 and a full list of records relating to the site are listed in the Southampton City Council HER. The Roman town had defences and quaysides and a possible Roman cremation cemetery to the E of the defences. Part of the site is a scheduled ancient monument (NHLE 1005538). The Roman road from Chichester and possibly Winchester terminate here and another possible road from Winchester may terminate on the St Denys bank of the river.
Details
Two piers and a riverside revetment on the N side of the River Itchen, one pier at right angles to the N bank, the other at a slightly different alignment.
The site is located within the intertidal mudflats of the River Itchen between Clausentum and St Denys, to the rear of 140-150 Priory Road, Southampton. It lies on alluvium over River Terrace Deposits 1-11 (mainly gravel).
The total number of wooden elements recorded were 179 piles, 4 horizontal planks and 3 braces. It was thought likely that further timbers survive around the recorded timbers, but the deep soft mud prevented further investigation. The majority of piles protrude up to 200mm from the mud and have tapered tops due to decay.
Analysis of the alignments indicates three different structures:
WESTERN PIER
A pier aligned at right angles to the N river bank. This is the larger and more clearly defined of the three structures and includes a group of 57 mostly square piles. It is aligned NNE-SSW and lies at right angles to the present river channel. It comprises a regular grid of eight rows of seven piles, with two piles forming a row at the far S end. Its maximum dimensions are 15.5m by 7.5m. To the W of the pier were three horizontal timbers with squared edges interpreted as braces.
EASTERN PIER
A second pier to the E of the first is set on a slightly different alignment. It includes an original group of 48 piles which are repaired and reinforced by a further 50 smaller piles. Its alignment is NE-SW. It includes both square and rounded piles in seven rows of varying numbers of piles at irregular intervals. Its maximum dimensions are 12m by 7.5m. Four planks lay among the piles of the pier and were thought to be associated with it.
REVETMENT
Further NE and closest to the shore a riverside revetment is aligned to the river bank. The revetment comprises a group of 11 very large and almost square piles. The piles, each about 300mm square, run in two irregular rows some 2m apart, aligned NW-SE to run along what must have been the Roman shore line at that time. There is a possibility that they could be the end of a third pier which continued to the NE since the E-W measurement is 7.5m which is the same as the other two piers.
OTHER REMAINS
Some of the remaining piles of the 179 total which form a triangular area between the revetment and the second pier appear to form part of a different structure, the rest, and a brace, lie to the S and E of the first pier but do not form a regular pattern and, as yet, are of unknown function.
EXTENT OF SCHEDULING
The scheduling aims to protect the known extent of the piles and planks which comprise the two piers and the revetment. The maximum extent of the monument is about 28.5m N-S by about 21.5m E-W.
