| Abstract: |
Based on
the findings of the preliminary works, the archaeological advisor to
SDC advised that an archaeological Condition be attached to the Outline Planning
Consent requiring excavation in two areas (Areas A and B) in order to investigate the
two foci of medieval ditches, and the ring-ditch (Ring-ditch B). Area A was within the
eastern part of the site and comprised a rhomboid-shaped plot of land 270m by 170m
in extent; Area B was within the western part of the site and comprised a rectangular
plot measuring 170m by 95m An archaeological excavation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology between January
and May 2019 at the request of St Modwen Ltd on land at Quedgeley East, Haresfield,
Gloucestershire. The excavation comprised two areas, which together amounted to an area
of 6.6ha.
The earliest remains comprised two flints, both residual within later deposits. One is only
broadly datable as prehistoric, whilst the other is a Mesolithic or Early Neolithic blade. A small
ring-ditch is undated but may be the remains of a prehistoric barrow, and there was also a
sherd of Early to Middle Bronze Age pottery and a small assemblage of later prehistoric
pottery, all residual within later deposits.
A single Roman inhumation burial was found. The bones were in very poor condition, but
radiocarbon assay produced a determination of cal. AD 130–320 (SUERC-88058; 95.4%
probability). The grave may have been laid along what was probably a Roman droveway and
within site of the possible barrow. A small assemblage of late prehistoric and Roman pottery
reflects the site’s location south of extensive Iron Age and Roman enclosures identified at
Hunt’s Grove.
The majority of the remains date to the medieval period and relate to an enclosed farmstead.
Pottery from the site, radiocarbon dating, and the settlement form, together suggest that this
farmstead was in use from c. AD 1000 to 1150/1200 and, as such, is one of only a very few
such dispersed settlements to have been excavated. Additional significance arises from the
fact that most of the recovered pottery, fabric TF41B in the Gloucester type series, seems to
have been unused or wasters, suggesting that this pottery was produced on site. Haresfield
is one of only three locations mentioned in Domesday Book as having potters, and so the
identification of the site as having included one of the five potters mentioned in the Haresfield
entry is significant. The occupants were primarily farmers, most probably engaging in dairying
on the wood-pasture of the vale, and perhaps also having a sheep flock which was grazed on
the nearby Cotswold uplands, where the animals would also have manured arable fields. The
farm may have had late pre-Conquest origins, in which case it survived the Norman invasion
and the occupants seem to have taken advantage of the new market opportunities this
provided, adapting the pots they produced to suit Norman tastes.
Although the farmers adapted to the new regime, its effects eventually caused the
abandonment and probable deliberate demolition of the farm during the mid to late 12th
century when it was replaced by an open field system, along with what seems to have been a
moated windmill. This was perhaps part of a wider landscape reorganisation, which, beyond
the excavated area, saw the creation of a deer park within Haresfield, along with the
construction of the church (extant) and at least one moated manor house – an exercise in
Norman power expressed through a formalisation of the landscape which also maximised its
capacity to produce and process food and allow for the leisure, domestic and religious pursuits
of the new elite. The discovery of a moated windmill is unusual but sits comfortably within a
wider trend towards moated sites, which was adopted by the more prosperous peasants
through to the higher elites. |
