Title: |
Archaeological Investigations at Pershore Cemetery, Defford Road, Pershore, Worcestershire |
Series: |
Worcestershire Archaeology unpublished report series
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Downloads: |
fieldsec1-232544_1.pdf (4 MB)
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Download
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Licence Type: |
ADS Terms of Use and Access
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DOI |
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Publication Type: |
Report (in Series)
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Abstract: |
An archaeological investigation was undertaken on land adjacent to Pershore Cemetery. It was undertaken on behalf of Pershore Town Council which is considering a proposal to develop the site as an extension to the existing cemetery. The project aimed to locate a suspected early Roman settlement indicated by recent finds from graves within the cemetery and by a well-defined set of geophysical survey plots which are interpreted as ditched enclosures. The investigation comprised an initial phase of monitoring of geotechnical test pits which identified the depth of topsoils, subsoils and natural but no features apart from a modern drain and service trench. The second phase involved evaluation trenching with a rapid assessment of features located across transects of the geophysical survey (reported on separately; Austrums 2009). Within the eleven trenches, excavated across the features, up to forty linear ditches and pits were identified, eighteen of which were partially excavated. The identified activity appears to comprise enclosed settlement, bounded by large rectilinear ditches, with zones of activity defined by smaller internal ditches. A number of curvilinear ditches may define buildings, whilst a number of pits may have been used for the disposal of rubbish. The artefacts, mainly of 1st and 2nd century date, comprise a range of regional wares and vessel types indicative of domestic occupation. The grave of a human juvenile was encountered and left in-situ. It contained a small number of sherds of Roman pottery and a residual struck flint tool of late prehistoric date. The area is located along an upper terrace of the Avon Valley and appears to comprise a rural settlement site occupied from the early Roman period, possibly from the Late Iron Age, and through to the 3rd century AD. The good state of preservation of features their density and the wealth of diagnostic artefacts renders the site to be of local significance. |
Author: |
J Hughes
Tom Vaughan
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Publisher: |
Worcestershire Archaeology
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Other Person/Org: |
Historic England (OASIS Reviewer)
Worcestershire HER (OASIS Reviewer)
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Year of Publication: |
2009
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Locations: |
Site: |
Land adjacent to Pershore Cemetery, Defford Road |
County: |
Worcestershire |
District: |
Wychavon |
Parish: |
PERSHORE |
Country: |
England |
Grid Reference: 393720, 245290 (Easting, Northing)
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Subjects / Periods: |
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Identifiers: |
OASIS Id: |
fieldsec1-232544 |
OBIB: |
report series number 1687 |
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Source: |
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Relations: |
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Created Date: |
18 Aug 2017 |