Exeter Archaeology unpublished report series

In trench 1, the most significant archaeological features exposed were ditches 520 and 522. The larger ditch (520) is most likely a boundary ditch, which had been re-cut along its north edge by ditch 522. The fills of 520 contained fragments of both Roman and medieval pottery. However, the presence of post-1000AD pottery near the base of the deposit suggests that the ditch is medieval in date, and that the Roman pottery was residual material from former settlement activity in the area. Similar features were recorded during excavations prior to the construction of Wisteria Cottage, to the west of the site. Ditch F109 was a north-south ditch with a steep V-shaped profile, associated with Roman settlement at Greinton. Ditch F100 was a broad, shallow ditch, which formed part of a series of tenement enclosures in the medieval core of the village. Ditches 520 and 522 were perpendicular to F100 and F109 and may form part of the tenement plots laid out during medieval settlement of Greinton. The profile and fills of ditch 520 are similar to those of ditch F100. There are no field boundaries, or other features, marked on the Tithe Map or OS maps which correspond to 520 or 522. The only archaeological feature within Trench 2 was ditch 506, which was aligned east to west and contained one sherd of Roman pottery. A number of similar ditches were recorded during excavations at Partridge Close, to the west of the trench. These shared a similar alignment and indicated Roman settlement activity in this area. The date and alignment of ditch 506 suggests that features relating to the former Roman settlement at Greinton extend eastwards from Partridge Close, and potentially survive intact beneath the modern farmyard. Within trench 3, all the features truncated the clay subsoil (518). This appears to correspond to layer 1008, which was interpreted as the Romano-British ground level in 1999. The survival of this deposit at the eastern edge of the farmyard indicates that an intact Romano-British ground surface, and associated settlement activity, may survive across the full extent of the modern farmyard. Layers 1008 and 518 are located beneath c. 1m of topsoil, which appears to have protected the horizon from later disturbance. The dating and sequence of features within trench 3 is limited by the paucity of obvious relationships and the small number of datable finds retrieved during excavation. Ditch 511 may be the earliest feature in Trench 3, as it is truncated by ditch 513. Ditch 511 did not contain any datable finds, and the north-south orientation corresponded to both Roman and medieval ditches excavated in the western part of the farm. Ditch 513 contained only one small fragment of pottery, which may be of Roman date. This pottery does not provide a secure date for the construction of the ditch, but may be a residual find, as seen elsewhere on the farm. Ditches 515 and 517 were aligned NNE-SSW and did not contain any datable finds. They may be the remains of a trackway aligned south-west to north-east that is marked on the 1904 OS map (Fig. 4) or an associated hedgebank along the eastern side of the track. Further investigation would be needed to establish a more definite date. [Au(adp)]