| Abstract: |
The locations of the two excavation areas were informed by the results of the preceding geophysical survey (Stratascan 2014) and archaeological evaluations (CA 2003 and CA 2019d). They comprised the entire development area at Roman Meadow (0.96ha), and a discrete area of 0.28 ha at Pershore Road, centred on Trenches 7 and 8, in which the potential late prehistoric structures were encountered. The excavation areas were set out on OS National Grid co-ordinates using Leica GPS. Overburden was stripped from the excavation areas by a mechanical excavator fitted with a toothless grading bucket. All machining was conducted under archaeological supervision to the top of a buried soil horizon which appeared to seal the prehistoric and Roman period features (layer 2001). Following the excavation and recording of five inhumation graves and a stone surface in the lower part of layer 2001, or immediately below it, the soil horizon was removed by machine under archaeological supervision to the top of the natural substrate, which was the level at which the majority of the archaeological features were encountered. Between November 2020 and April 2021, Cotswold Archaeology carried out archaeological excavations at land off Pershore Road and to the rear of Roman Meadow, Eckington, Worcestershire. The excavation at Pershore Road revealed late prehistoric remains dated to the Mid to Late Iron Age. Three phases of activity were apparent on a plateau above the River Avon, comprising two phases of enclosures, possibly relating to livestock management, followed by a phase of settlement characterised by roundhouses. The adjacent excavation at Roman Meadow provided evidence for contemporary activity, with the remains of ditched enclosures dated by pottery to the Mid to Late Iron Age or Early Roman period. At least one enclosure may have been domestic, and there was an open space, perhaps a corridor for the movement of stock; fitting with the animal bone assemblage (mainly cattle and sheep/goat) and the site’s location on the same plateau, which was suitable for sheep/goat grazing on the high ground and cattle grazing along the riverside meadows. One inhumation within a grave and a second human cranium (possibly curated) in a ditch were of this period. The ceramic evidence allows the possibility that the site remained in use into the Roman period with no hiatus. The Early Roman period saw the creation of large rectilinear ditched enclosures. Subsequent modification saw the creation of further enclosures, including a long-lived example which contained a roundhouse and a probable ancillary structure. Further developments saw the creation of rectilinear ditched fields, replacing the former open space or stock movement corridor, although the domestic enclosure remained in use. The latest Roman finds were pottery and coins of the 3rd to 4th centuries, and the whole complex was sealed by a buried soil horizon up to 0.8m thick which yielded further Roman finds along with two 17th century coins and possibly represented the accumulation of soil over a long timescale, incorporating both the prehistoric and Roman period occupation, and later periods up to the 17th century or later. Five burials, comprising single human skeletons were present: two wore hobnailed footwear, a typically Late Roman practice. All five were discovered in or just below the lower part of the buried soil horizon during machine excavation, which suggests that they may have been cut into a contemporary ground surface, which was subsequently buried by post settlement soil accumulation. However, due to the homogenous nature of the deposit, which was indistinguishable from the material surrounding the skeletons and the fills of the underlying features, it is not possible to be certain of this. |
