Title: |
Time Team Big Dig: Archaeological investigations at Great Easton, Leicestershire. |
Series: |
University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) unpublished report series
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Downloads: |
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Licence Type: |
ADS Terms of Use and Access
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DOI |
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Publication Type: |
Report (in Series)
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Abstract: |
On June 22nd 2003, the inhabitants of Great Easton in southeast Leicestershire, and professional archaeologists from the University of Leicester and Channel 4's Time Team, undertook fieldwork investigation to establish the origins and development of their village. Geophysical survey, 42, metre-square test pits and two machine-excavated trenches were opened up across the village. Although most of the archaeological features recorded were modern, with the notable exceptions of a late Roman or Early Anglo-Saxon cobbled surface and medieval plot boundaries, aq large amount of artefactual material was gathered allowing us to trace the settlement back to the Roman period or later Iron Age. Analysis of the pottery assemblage and its distribution has confirmed and complemented the findings of earlier work, which suggested the existence of a Roman period settlement (probably with an Iron Age antecedent), in the north-eastern part of the village. Early Anglo-Saxon pottery was also recovered. This, along with field-walked finds from the cemetery and outlying fields, suggests continuity of the Roman period settlement into the Early Anglo-Saxon period (c. AD450-650). Saxo-Norman and medieval activity was widespread throughout the village with a significant concentration of Saxo-Norman pottery from the features identified as medieval boundary ditches in Village Field indicating that rubbish was accumulating in the plot boundaries in the 11th century, and that land division within the village was already well established by at least this time. The distribution of medieval pottery is evenly distributed through the entire village and contains later medieval fabrics dating to the 15th and 16th century. During the post-medieval and modern periods rubbish disposal began to be organised more centrally with the establishment of specific rubbish tips by the Victorian period as discovered to the rear of Church Bank. |
Author: |
N Cooper
V Priest
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Publisher: |
University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS)
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Other Person/Org: |
Historic England (OASIS Reviewer)
Leicestershire HER (OASIS Reviewer)
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Year of Publication: |
2004
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Locations: |
Site: |
Time Team: Great Easton |
Parish: |
GREAT EASTON |
District: |
Harborough |
County: |
Leicestershire |
Country: |
England |
Grid Reference: 484900, 292800 (Easting, Northing)
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Subjects / Periods: |
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Identifiers: |
OASIS Id: |
universi1-14356 |
OBIB: |
ULAS Report 2004-144 |
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Note: |
A4 Ring bound paper report
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Source: |
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Relations: |
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Created Date: |
24 Nov 2016 |