Digital Archive from an Archaeological Evaluation for the A358 Taunton to Southfields Dualling Scheme, Somerset 2021-2022
Connect Archaeology, 2023. https://doi.org/10.5284/1105632. How to cite using this DOI
Data copyright © Connect Archaeology unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Primary contact
Connect Archaeology
Old Engine House
Eskmills Park
Musselburgh
East Lothian
EH21 7PQ
Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 5342
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1105632
- How to cite using this DOI
Overview
The collection is primarily characterised by site records which help to establish the patterns of occupation which characterised present archaeological remains. These records include context and trench descriptions, photographs, and site drawings.
Potential archaeological features were encountered 164 trenches, largely located to the northern and southern extents of the scheme, with a particular concentration in the south. Bronze and Iron Age finds, such as flint and pottery, were recovered from several trenches.
Especially notable among the archaeological features on site were a sequence of ditches, orientated north to south, which were interpreted as comprising a single rectilinear enclosure. Also significant were a collection of pits and postholes, from which prehistoric pottery was recovered, which marked the presence of a probable prehistoric mortuary enclosure.
Elsewhere, the archaeological remains indicated domestic activity having taken place on site. A curvilinear ditch, denoting a a probable drip gully associated with a roundhouse, was recorded. A pit was situated within the ditch, and likely corresponded to activity taking place within the roundhouse.
Evidence for later phases of occupation came with the recovery of Romano-British remains, recorded in a series of V-shaped ditches. Possible ring ditch enclosures, along with associated pits and ditches, were interpreted as dating to a similar phase of activity.
A cluster of trenches containing finds, such as pot and metal objects, dating to the Middle Ages, helped establish the presence of medieval domestic activity on the site. More recent agricultural activity was reflected in the presence of post-medieval field boundaries.
Recovered artefacts are to be deposited with the Somerset Heritage Centre, in Taunton. The finds assemblages to be archived include pottery, lithics, and some examples of metalwork.
