SECTION 2.2.6:CLAYDON PIKE TRENCH 27

INTRODUCTION

CHRONOLOGY

THE CIRCULAR SHRINE
The Exterior
The Interior

THE FINDS ASSEMBLAGE

DISCUSSION

Introduction (Fig. 2.2.24: Trench 27: The late Roman circular shrine)

A roughly rectangular area c 180 m² off the north-east corner of Trench 13 exposed a circular masonry building interpreted as a shrine with an associated cobbled path. Topsoil was machine stripped from the entire area to an approximate depth of 0.2 m, except in the south-east quadrant of the building where a 2 m long strip was cut to natural sand. The machine was also used to strip a small area several metres north of the excavation area to confirm that the cobbled path continued to the north and east.
The excavation was a three-stage process. An MSC team supervised by OAU cleared the stripped area to the top of occupation layers (2020, see below), and cut two sections across the post-medieval ditch (2022/A and B, see plan). The second phase was a one-week training excavation by the Oxford External Studies Programme, and the third was an excavation carried out with volunteer labour. The last two phases were supervised by OAU.

Top of page

Chronology

The chronology of the shrine is based upon the ceramic and coin assemblages, both of which were relatively substantial given the overall size of the excavated area. Just over 3.5 kg of pottery came from the trench, and about 60 % of this was directly associated with the shrine. Almost 90% of the ceramic assemblage from the shrine was fully recorded, and a substantial amount (20%) of this comprised Oxford colour-coated wares, indicating a 4th century date, contemporary with the late Roman villa/farmstead in Trench 13. Over 33% (248) of all coins from Claydon Pike came from Trench 27, and over 90% of these were 4th century in date. Within the 4th century group there was a different distribution pattern to those of the site as a whole, including the late Roman settlement area in Trench 13 (See King, section 3.3). In particular, the number of coins from the years 364 to 378 was very high (43.5%) by comparison with the settlement area (10.1%) and the site as a whole (21.4%), suggesting that the main period of activity lay in the later 4th century. But most of these coins were possibly from a single dispersed hoard (see finds assemblage below), and a small number (11) of late 3rd century coins were also found.
The majority of coins from the trench were from unstratified contexts, but of the remaining 56, 48% were from the cobbled layer (2032) within the shrine, and a further 35% from junction between this layer and the brown gravelly clay (2042) below. Two coins, dated 364-78, came from the lowest silt layer (2044) thought to predate the shrine, and if this were the case, then the building may have been one of the latest Roman structures on the site. However, the coins came from the top of this layer and it is quite possible that they were intrusive. The latest coins from any of the shrine surface layers are of the same date (364-78), therefore implying that the structure was relatively short-lived. However, a small number of coins of Arcadius (388-402) were found, suggesting activity continuing at least until the end of the 4th century and possibly into the early 5th, although no further building phases were noted. The walls were subsequently robbed (robber trenches 2035, 2036) and the post-medieval field drain dug, cutting across the shrine and removing two wall sections and much of the interior.

Top of page

The Circular Shrine (Fig. 2.2.24: Trench 27: The late Roman circular shrine)

A circular building interpreted as a shrine was sited on a low knoll, or island of silts and clays, which fell away to the north into the palaeochannel, where silts and collapsed peat indicated very wet conditions. The shrine comprised three wall arcs and three stretches of robber trenches outlining a circular building with an internal diameter of approximately 6 metres. The wall foundations were an average of 0.7 m in width where preserved, and were two courses deep of flat limestone slabs with shaped faces to give smoothly curved inner and outer foundation faces. The core of the foundations were of solidly mortared rubble. The wall footings laid on this foundation were preserved only on wall arc 2024, the northern wall, and a very short section on the east end of wall arc 2023, forming the south wall of the building. These wall footings were 0.55 m wide and also 2 courses thick, made up of slabs smaller than those used for the foundation, but also with inner and outer wall faces shaped. The core of the wall was again of mortared rubble. The walls and foundations were set into shallow trenches about 0.45 m deep (from modern ground level) and varying from 0.8 to 1 m wide where preserved between wall arcs 2024 and 2025 along the north-east line of the building (section 66).
A post-medieval field drainage ditch (2022) running from north-west to south-east cut through the south-west half of the building, removing two sections of the wall from two to three metres each and destroying almost exactly half of the interior. No positive evidence for an entrance was preserved, though a doorway could have been positioned to the north-west, associated with the cobbled pathway which approached from the north-east. Alternatively, there may have been a cobbled pathway leading around the exterior of the building (contexts 2027, 2038) to an area of cobbling (2034) outside of an entrance facing south-east (see below). An easterly orientation is more usual for religious structures in Britain, occurring in over 90% of those structures where an entrance has been located (Smith 2001, 153). A metalled pathway surrounding the exterior of the temple building also has parallels in Woodeaton (Goodchild and Kirk 1954, 25) and Frilford (Bradford and Goodchild 1939) in Oxfordshire.

Top of page

The Exterior

Surrounding the building on all sides was a gravelled surface (2027, 2038) about 1m wide which overlaid the outer faces of the foundation courses. This may well have been an external pathway (see above), and was covered by the alluvial silt (2030) which spread over all of the site. The gravelled layer was about 5 mm thick where it abutted the wall but thinned out to fade away completely about 1m away from the wall. No finds were associated with this layer.
The most prominent external feature was a cobbled pathway (2029) curving from south-west to north-east, and intercepting the building at a tangent in the north-west quadrant of the building. This pathway was metalled with unshaped flat limestone slabs laid to form an uneven but solid surface about 1.5 m wide (section 65). Flanking this to the east, and contemporary with it was a ditch (2045) approximately 0.6 m wide and 0.6 m deep. As this ditch paralleled the path to the north, its eastern edge (away from the path) became indistinct and was lost in the silts and peats of the palaeochannel. These marsh deposits were also visible to the west of the pathway where there was a rounded terminal of a wider, shallower ditch or pool (section 65). Both ditches are presumed to have served to drain the cobbled path surface. The cobbles were packed onto the top of a foundation of gravelly clay (2028). This foundation appears to create a raised causeway across the marshy area; it produced no artefacts and could be either a natural finger of clays of a deliberate construction. The cobbled surface produced only a few fragments of pot, 79 animal bones, an iron nail and three mid-late 4th century coins.
To the east of the cobbled path and about 3 m north-east of the shrine were two successive oval features (2039, 2031; not shown on plan). The earliest was about 0.5 m wide and 1.4 m long from south-west to north-east (feature 2039). The second (2031) was immediately to the south-east of 2039 and was cutting away its south-east edge. The fills of both were clean silt, but the second feature (2031) had a surface of flat limestone slabs packed flat into the top of the fill. Under these stones were several matching fragments of a large burnt pot, a large sherd of a Dressel 20 amphora, and a fragment of vessel glass. Continuing clockwise around the exterior of the shrine and just north of the robber trench 2035 was an ephemeral linear feature (2026) running from south-west to north-east (not shown on plan). This was composed of a series of flat stones laid in a line apparently filling a shallow gully about 0.15 m wide. It could be traced to the north-west for about 0.75 m where its roughly level bottom emptied out onto the downward slope that ran around the north-east, north and north-west sides of the shrine, down to the marsh. It is likely that this feature served as a drain leading excess water away from the shrine.
The next exterior feature was an area of cobbling (2034) just outside the wall line at the south end of wall arc 2025 (see above). This extended away from the wall for about 1 m and appeared to extend inside the wall line as well. (These cobbles were distinct from the limestone slabs of the wall and foundation). Curiously, one of the limestone slabs making up wall 2025 was set vertically, on edge, and was placed as if to form the north edge of the cobbled area. This stone set on edge could have served as a foundation for a door jamb, and is thus further indicative of an entrance in this south-eastern sector (see above). Two metres south of this cobbled area, along the eastern edge of the excavation, was a semicircular feature, 0.1 m deep and filled with dark grey-black silt (not shown on plan). When first revealed by machine, the surface produced many fragments of pottery, but the lower level was devoid of artefacts. The south edge of this feature had been cut away by the post medieval ditch.
On the south edge of the site, to the south and east of wall 2023, was an area of rubble approximately 1 x 2 m. This was found to be limestone slabs, probably from either wall or foundation which had tumbled outwards. All along the outside of wall 2023 was observed the same gravel ring as was visible to the north of the building, although here it was very patchy and eroded.

Top of page

The Interior

The interior of the shrine was stratified beneath two layers of alluvial deposits, one of which (2021) sealed the entire site. The lower deposit, a dark grey to black silt, was found only inside the building, and the interface between these layers produced several coins. Below the alluvium was an eroded cobbled surface (2032) which was most complete in the northern part of the interior, but which was increasingly worn or eroded towards the south-east, possibly as a result of increased human activity in the area of the entranceway. The stones were packed into a matrix of medium brown gravelly soil. Many well stratified coins (27) and animal bones (154), along with pottery (1.1 kg) were found either between the stones or mixed with the brown matrix. This appeared to be a deliberately cobbled floor surface. The stones were laid flat, many edge to edge, and were quite level, varying by only 0.03 m across a distance of 6 m. Along the inside face of the north wall (2024) the stones rested directly on the offset of the foundation stones.
An isolated layer of burnt material was located over cobbled surface 2032 in the northern part of the interior, and could possibly represent a hearth. Another feature (2043) was recognised in the surface of the cobbles to the south-west of this burnt area. This was an 'L' shaped setting of stones, with the long arm of the 'L' running north-west to south-east for about 1 m and the short arm turning to the north-east for about 0.6 m. These stones were all set edge to edge, and were aligned on the presumed doorway to the south-east. However, excavation exposed no underlying feature and the stones were only a single layer thick like the rest of the cobbling. A small complete pot was found in the eastern part of the building, placed in a small hollow between three large cobbles.
Below the cobbled surface was a layer of dark brown/grey silt with a few flecks of gravel (2042; section 66). The upper section of this layer contained more gravel and the lower part was sandier. A discontinuous lens of white gravel separated the two. This was clearly visible in section but not in plan during excavation. Both parts of this layer produced abraded fragments of pottery (0.1 kg) and bone (51), and a number (16) of coins. These layers were noticeably thicker to the north-east and extended only part way across the interior from east to west, presumably where they filled a slight hollow in the underlying layer. Beyond the edge of the hollow, 2042 thinned and was discontinuous. To the north this layer was cut away by 2035, the robber trench for the wall, but was not found on the exterior, suggesting contemporaneity with the shrine.
Below 2042 was a layer of grey/brown silt with some gravel (2044). This was found to underlie 2042 across the whole of the interior and also to underlie the wall robber trenches. The only finds from this layer were two late 4th century coins, which came from the top, along the interface with 2042. Layer 2044 was thinner to the east (about 0.05 m) but thicker to the west where it reached a maximum of 0.1 m. It was very thin or missing entirely from a small area in the north-east central part of the interior, where 2042 appeared to directly overlie the tan natural sand which elsewhere was found below 2044. It is likely that this layer predated the construction of the shrine.

Top of page


The Finds assemblage

The finds assemblage from the area of the circular shrine is unusual within the site, both in its size and character. Perhaps the most obvious difference was the large quantity of coins, many of which were located within and beneath of the cobbled floor surface, with apparent evidence for specific depositional 'zoning'. Over 170 sherds of pottery were also recovered from these floor levels, and a complete small pot was deliberately buried within the cobbles. Aside from coins, other small finds were scarce, but included a 1st century brooch from just below the cobbled surface, and a bone pin from the cobbled path (2034) leading from the postulated south-east entrance. An iron chisel and joiner's dog also came from the internal cobbled layer, and a small copper alloy votive axe was recovered from the vicinity of the shrine. A number of animal bone fragments (417) were recorded from Trench 27, although only 10% could be identified to species. No articulated animal bone deposits were recorded. The general character and context of this finds assemblage indicates a religious function.

Top of page

Discussion

The location, structural form and associated material culture, all strongly suggest that the circular masonry building in Trench 27 was a late Roman shrine. It was probably built towards the latter half of the 4th century AD (360-70s?) on a slightly raised area, c 70 m ENE of the late Roman villa (B 9). A raised cobbled pathway led from the shrine, not towards the villa site, but away to the north, across a marshy area towards a known Roman road located c 100 m distant.
The small quantities of stone rubble found on site and the level consistency of the top of the wall footings may indicate that the walls were of timber framing built on top of good quality masonry foundations and wall footings. A similar construction is postulated for the villa building in Trench 13. It is possible that the building could have formed a two-storey tower type structure, but it is perhaps more likely to have been single-storey. As only minimal ceramic roofing tile and no roof slabs were found, the roof was probably of the conical thatch type well attested in rural contexts. The limestone slabs for the foundations and wall footings were of Cotswold limestone, while all the rest of the stone and cobbles were local material.
The Claydon Pike shrine has a number of parallels within southern Britain, perhaps the closest in form, character and chronology being that at Bancroft in Buckinghamshire, c 60 km to the north-east (Williams and Zeepvat 1994). Here, a small (5.7 m internal diameter) masonry-footed circular shrine was located on elevated ground, c 300 m north of a villa complex. It was dated to mid - late 4th century, and contained 23 coins, an iron spear tip and a large amount of late 4th century pottery. Most of this was buried within a large pit within the centre of the shrine, which also included an articulated pig burial (ibid 109). Additional circular masonry buildings in central southern Britain with an unequivocally religious function include Brigstock (Greenfield 1963) and Collyweston (Knocker 1965) in Northamptonshire, and Frilford (Bradford and Goodchild 1939) in Oxfordshire. Another possible example lies near to the villa at Chedworth in Gloucestershire (RCHM 1976, 28). Claydon Pike, with an internal diameter of some 6 m, is slightly smaller than this series of buildings with diameters averaging some 10 m. Otherwise, details of both wall and flooring are closely comparable, especially at Brigstock, which also had a large quantity of finds (including many coins) deposited in specific zones on and within the floor surface (Smith 2001, 76).
The relatively small size of the Claydon Pike shrine, as well as its proximity to the villa/farmhouse, marks a close connection to another 'class' of circular masonry building found across central southern Britain, including Redlands Farm, Stanwick, Northants, and Ditchley in Oxfordshire (Keevil and Booth 1997). Many such examples were located very close to - or were an integral part of - villa sites, and have been assigned a variety of different functions, from domestic to agricultural and industrial (ibid. 38). Some have been suggested as household religious structures (eg Darenth, Tring, Petersfield, Stroud: Rodwell 1980), although there are generally either very few finds to aid in the interpretation, probably due to the nature of the rituals practised. A well-constructed octagonal building within the villa complex at Bancroft - despite having no directly associated finds - was postulated as a family shrine during the late Roman period (Williams and Zeepvat 1994, 110). It would therefore have been contemporary with the more rustic circular shrine to the north, which was probably of a public nature, patronised by the villa retainers and perhaps the local population. The shrine at Claydon Pike may have fulfilled a similar 'semi-public' role, an idea strengthened by the presence of a trackway leading across the marsh to the main Roman road, rather than directly to the villa. But there is no reason to suppose that the occupants of the villa, who must have been responsible for the construction of the shrine, were not also its patrons.

top of page