Title: |
Archaeological Excavation on Land at Frenchfields, Penrith, Cumbria |
Series: |
North Pennines Archaeology Ltd unpublished report series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: |
In September 2007, North Pennines Archaeology Limited (NPAL) was commissioned to undertake an archaeological excavation on land at Frenchfields, Penrith, Cumbria (NGR NY 53921 29421). Previous excavations in the vicinity in 1999 recovered fragments of flint tools and Roman pottery. A second phase of excavation in 2000 confirmed the existence of substantial Roman occupation in the area, mainly in the form of a 'ribbon' style settlement along side the Roman road that extends from Brovacum (Brougham) Roman Fort, just to the south of the proposed development area. The proximity of the field to the River Eamont means that it is low lying and very flood prone. River channels were seen in excavation. A cobbled area uncovered may have been an attempt to create a surface above what may have been very wet ground. . As the field is set quite a way back from the Roman road that leads out of Brougham, the usage of it appears not to have been as a settlement base. The interpretation of the narrow ditch features encountered within the excavation area were as boundary ditches, perhaps for fields used for crop growing or pasture land or as boundary markers for the back of plot divisions. Certainly not all the finds of Roman and Romano-British pottery encountered came from distinct features, but also from the naturally accumulated layers themselves, possibly deposited as broken items that were mixed in with other waste as manure for the fields, or as general rubbish taken away from the settlement area, although the concentration of the ceramic finds was not great, only 15 pieces in total were recovered. In conclusion, the area investigated by this excavation has positively proved the existence of archaeological remains, although they may be peripheral to the settlement focus just to the south, which lie closer to the Roman road and fort, and probably are of an agricultural nature, most likely a stock enclosure area, away from the main settlement. |
Author: |
N Gaskell
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Publisher: |
North Pennines Archaeology Ltd
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Other Person/Org: |
Historic England (OASIS Reviewer)
Please note: this record has been validated by-proxy by Historic England.
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Year of Publication: |
2007
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Locations: |
Site: |
Frenchfields, Penrith, Cumbria |
Parish: |
PENRITH |
District: |
Eden |
County: |
Cumbria |
Country: |
England |
Location - Auto Detected: |
Brougham |
Location - Auto Detected: |
River Eamont |
Grid Reference: 353921, 529421 (Easting, Northing)
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Subjects / Periods: |
ROMAN
(Historic England Periods)
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SHERD
(Object England)
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ROMAN
(Historic England Periods)
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VICUS
(Monument Type England)
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ROMAN
(Historic England Periods)
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EXCAVATION
(Event)
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September 2007 (Auto Detected Temporal) |
1999 (Auto Detected Temporal) |
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Identifiers: |
OASIS Id: |
northpen3-78070 |
OBIB: |
CP555/07 |
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Note: |
Grey Literature Report, bound, 32 pages 11 figures
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Source: |
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Relations: |
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Created Date: |
28 Nov 2016 |