Flexford

The final season of excavation by D Calow for the Roman Studies Group of SyAS revealed a small pit filled with burnt flint, pot and charcoal radiocarbon dated to the Late Bronze Age. A north/south ditch 6m to the east contained a few small sherds of flint-tempered pottery and charcoal of very similar date. In total c 50 fragments of Late Bronze Age pottery were recovered, most of it redeposited in Roman features, suggesting there was Late Bronze Age activity in the vicinity. Two beam slots containing Roman material were found intersecting at right-angles at the location of the small Late Bronze Age pit. These appear to have formed the base of a timber building 10 x 5m oriented east–west. The beam slots were stratigraphically above and therefore later than both the Late Bronze Age pit and nearby ditch, but cut by a ditch dated to the 3rd century AD. Cremations of 1st–2nd century date found in 2014 were within the area of the timber building and a cremation was found above one beam slot. The late 3rd/early 4th century pit, with large quantities of charcoal and sheep and cattle horn cores, also found in 2014 (SyAC 99, 220), now appears to have been cut into the south-west corner of the timber building. A shallow ditch, north of the building, was filled with a substantial quantity of 4th century pottery, animal bone and other finds. The proximity of these features suggests they were associated and that this was an area of the site with predominantly ritual activity centred on the timber building which may have housed a shrine. Excavations showed the north–south track, partially revealed in 2014 (ibid), widened to form a flint surface 9m wide, east of the possible shrine. Forty-six 4th century coins were recovered from the flint surface including a very late Roman coin minted in the eastern Mediterranean (AD 408–423). Eighteen well-formed post-pits with flint packing were revealed on the opposite side of the flint surface from the possible shrine. They formed two or possibly three rows c 12m in length, adjacent to and parallel with the east edge of the flint surface, and continued into the baulk. The size and positioning of the pits suggest additional timber buildings, but it was not possible to determine the number or the overall size. The coins suggest the flint surface was of 4th century date and, stratigraphically, the timber building or buildings may be of a similar date. Following earlier work and geophysical survey, an east–west flint-surfaced road, 6m wide with side ditches, was exposed about 150m south of the timber buildings. Excavations suggest the road may have been built in the 2nd century, later widened and then resurfaced in the late 4th century. The line of the road when projected both east and west, conforms closely with the route proposed by D Bird in The Archaeology of Surrey to 1540, fig 7.1.
Year: 
2015
ID: 
2441
NGR: 
SU937512
Periods: 
Borough: