SOIL REPORT ON THE DEANSWAY ARCHAEOLOGY PROJECT, WORCESTER
Author(s): R I Macphail
The Roman, dark earth and Late Saxon stratigraphy was studied through 14 thin sections from sites 1, 2 and 4 at Deansway, Worcester. Similarly, early Roman deposits from non-domestic building debris and agricultural processing waste were recognised. In the later Roman period, material from domestic middens and burned manure from open air herbivore stabling, was dumped. This activity was interrupted briefly by the construction of a street at site 2, when vivianite for example resulted from the draining-away of domestic waste (cess) solutions. A mull grassland soil (dark earth) resulted from the biological reworking of, and on-site plant growth on, the late Roman midden and herbivore manure spreads over the next centuries. Undistributed grassland, perhaps used for pastoralism, was sealed by the late Saxon burh rampart, whereas inside the burh, the grassland soil was contaminated by cess and spreads of midden material. Post Boudicca horticulture and dark earth are included in the discussion.
- Report Number:
- 82/1991
- Series:
- AML Reports (New Series)
- Pages:
- 36
- Keywords:
- Soil/Sediment
