Birmingham Warwickshire Archaeol Soc Trans 102

including an item inscribed with graffito, possibly of the owner's name

Part of a Romano-British roadside settlement adjacent to the Fosse Way was excavated in 1984 at Princethorpe, Warwickshire, in advance of the laying of a pipeline. The section excavated through the Fosse Way revealed two main phases of road construction, followed by later settlement activity to the west. The first phase consisted of a cambered road of rammed gravel, which may be either an early road surface or an agger; at a later stage the road was surfaced with white, fine-grained limestone, possibly of local origin. It is suggested that this later phase may post-date AD 70, when military use gave way to civilian traffic. There are indications that the earlier road was much wider than the later. Although the area of the settlement excavated was small, it is likely to have consisted of a small number of timber-framed buildings, running in a band of ribbon development adjacent to the road. Pottery evidence indicates that the settlement was mainly active during the second century. Features uncovered included three hearths, one associated with fragments of iron slag. Specialist reports include

Report on a gold clasp consisting of two rectangular plates separated by four rivets, found by a metal detector user in a field near Mancetter. The upper plate is set with five red `stones' of coloured glass, and has two protruding loops.

Description of an ancient helmet at St Nicholas' Church, Alcester, where it has been displayed above the tomb of Sir Fulke Greville and his wife since at least the mid-nineteenth century. The author concludes that the helmet is probably either English or Flemish in origin, and made in the late-sixteenth century, some time after the death of Sir Fulke Greville in 1559.