SECTION 2.1.5 THE ROMAN FIELD SYSTEM IN
WARRENS FIELD
Most of the ditches relating to the Roman fiels system in Warrens Field
were recorded during salvage work and details of fill and stratigraphic
relationships are often lacking. As a result they will not be discussed
individually.
It is clear that several phases are represented but dating is uncertain.
The latest certainly survive into phase 4 and were levelled out by the
accumulation of alluvium during phase 5. The trackway ditches,966 and
968, and ditches 370, 377 and 1097 certainly fall within this category.
Despite the fact that several phases were represented, the field system
appears to have retained its integrity throughout the Roman period, presumably
due to the topographic contraints of the marshy areas.
Four fields are clearly represented within the observed area and a fifth
can be postulated with some certainty from the cropmarks:
Field 1: represented by trackway ditch 167 and ditches 328 and 329. Approximate
maximum area 16,500 m2 .
Field 2: represented by ditches 167, 329 and the cropmark ditch to the
east outside the excavation area. Approximate area 22,000 m2.
Field 3: represented by ditches 1101, 1105, 328 and 331. Approximate area
18,100 m2.
Field 4: represented by ditches 329, 331, 1101 and cropmarks to east.
Approximate area 21,900 m2.
Field 5: conjectured from cropmarks and stream boundary south of Warners
Cross Farm. Approximate area 12,000 m2.
Absolute dating was problematic due to the small quantities of material
recovered from field ditches. The main system appears, however, to have
been established during phase 3, and was perhaps associated with the trackways.
Later 4th century material was recovered from ditch 377, indicating that
at least a part of the field system was in use during phase 4.
Trackways entered the site from the south-east, following the edges of
Islands 1 and 2, and turning towards the north-west. Another trackway
approached Longdoles Field. It was generally the case that the ditches
belonging to the Roman phase incorporated a lower proportion of gravel
in their fills than the middle Iron Age ones. It was unclear whether this
reflected a difference in the functions of the fields during the two periods.
|