Romano-British Settlement at Abbots Salford Quarry

1 Observation of topsoil stripping in February-March 1994 on behalf of Alfred McAlpine construction Ltd revealed the presence of a Romano-British rural settlement covering c.3.5ha. The settlement consisted of a series of ditched enclosures, the earlier ones being curvilinear, the later rectilinear. Almost all the structural evidence was for timber buildings and very little roof tile was found. Other features located included a probable corn drying oven and two cremation burials on the south edge of the site. The pottery suggested some Iron Age activity, little in the 1st century AD, a peak of activity in the late 2nd and 3rd centuries, less in the early 4th and little in the later 4th century. The proportion of fine wares was low (c.3%) but the finds included some metalwork, suggesting a site of few pretentions but above subsistence level. After a plan of the visible features had been made it was decided to exclude the survivng area of the settlement from extraction and it was subsiquently reburied. J. Thomas and N. Palmer