Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-16T18:23:24.388Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Roman Pond at Wyre Piddle, Worcestershire, with a Brief Survey of Ponds in Roman Britain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 April 2016

Derek Hurst ,
Nicholas Daffern ,
Laura Griffin ,
Katie Head ,
Andrew Mann ,
Elizabeth Pearson  and
Sylvia Warman
Derek Hurst
Affiliation:
Archive & Archaeology Service, Worcestershire County Council [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Nicholas Daffern
Affiliation:
Wardell Armstrong [email protected]
Laura Griffin
Affiliation:
Archive & Archaeology Service, Worcestershire County Council [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Katie Head
Affiliation:
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Plymouth University [email protected]
Elizabeth Pearson
Affiliation:
Archive & Archaeology Service, Worcestershire County Council [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Sylvia Warman
Affiliation:
Historic England [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Artificial Roman ponds present in various guises, but they are relatively rarely found in the service of rural agriculture. This article focuses on a possible example of this type from Worcestershire, where extensive excavation has been carried out. The results demonstrate the potential of a pond for the reconstruction of wider landscape usage, while the considerable quantity of associated finds potentially sheds some light on social practice. A review of similar sites across Roman Britain suggests there may be practical (in essence curatorial) issues about the fuller investigation of such features once identified, in order that a similarly high level of data can be achieved more regularly, and suggests a need for prospection/mapping for the better management of this resource, especially employing newly available LiDAR data.

Keywords

Roman pondsRoman agricultureWyre Piddlelandscapeenvironmental evidencefeastingritual deposition
Type
Articles
Information
Britannia , Volume 47 , November 2016 , pp. 169 - 191
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2016. Published by The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY

* Reports available on-line at www.worcestershire.gov.uk/archaeology/library Google Scholar
Abrams, J. 2005: A428 Caxton to Hardwick Improvements: Intrusive Archaeological Field Evaluation, Albion Archaeology Report 2005/44, Bedford Google Scholar
Arnold, B. 1999: ‘Drinking the feast: alcohol and the legitimation of power in Celtic Europe’, Cambridge Archaeological Journal 9, 71–93 Google Scholar
Arrowsmith, P., and Power, D. 2012: Roman Nantwich: a Salt-making Settlement: Excavation at Kingsley Fields 2002, BAR British Series 557, Oxford Google Scholar
Barber, L. 1993: An Archaeological Evaluation at Hawkinge Aerodrome, Hawkinge, Kent: Phase 1, South Eastern Archaeological Services Project 1992/49, Ditchling Google Scholar
Barclay, A.J., and Stevens, C.J. 2011: ‘Radiocarbon dating’, in Powell 2011, 80–91Google Scholar
Barford, P. 2002: The Excavations by R H Farrands, 1952–73: Excavations at Little Oakley, Essex, 1951–78: Roman Villa and Saxon Settlement, East Anglian Archaeology 98, Norwich, 7–66 Google Scholar
Boyle, A. 2004: ‘Riding into history’, British Archaeology 76, 22–7Google Scholar
Brodribb, A.C.C., Hands, A.R., and Walker, D.R. 2005: The Roman Villa at Shakenoak Farm, Oxfordshire: Excavations 1960–1976, BAR British Series 395, Oxford CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brossler, A., Laws, G., and Welsh, K. 2009: ‘An Iron Age and Roman site at Leavesden Aerodrome, Abbots Langley’, Hertfordshire Archaeology and History 16, 27–56 Google Scholar
Burrow, A., and Foard-Colby, A. 2006: Archaeological Evaluation at Brampton Road, Buckden, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire Archaeology Report 06/146, Northampton Google Scholar
Cooke, N. 2006: ‘The development of the agricultural landscape from the Middle Iron Age to the end of the Romano-British farmstead (c 400 BC–8th century AD)’, in Lewis et al. 2006, 170–231Google Scholar
Cunliffe, B.W. 1969: Roman Bath, Report of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London 24, London Google Scholar
Cunliffe, B.W. 2005: Iron Age Communities in Britain (4th edn), London Google Scholar
Curteis, M. 2006: ‘Distribution and ritual deposition of Iron Age coins in the south Midlands’, in de Jersey, P., Celtic Coinage: New Discoveries, New Discussion, BAR International Series 1532, Oxford, 61–79 Google Scholar
*Daffern, N., and Head, K. 2012: ‘Pollen’, in Hurst et al. 2012, 64–7Google Scholar
*Daffern, N., and Pearson, E. 2012: ‘Synthesis of environmental evidence’, in Hurst et al. 2012, 70–1Google Scholar
*Dalwood, H. 1992: Interim Report on an Excavation (Phase 1) at North End Farm, Madresfield, Hereford and Worcester County Archaeological Report 121, Worcester Google Scholar
Dark, K., and Dark, P. 1997: The Landscape of Roman Britain, Stroud Google Scholar
Davis, P. 2008: Snails, Archaeology and Landscape Change, Oxford Google Scholar
Dobney, K. 2001: ‘A place at the table: the role of vertebrate zooarchaeology within a Roman research agenda for Britain’, in James and Millett 2001, 36–45Google Scholar
English Heritage 2011: Moats, Ponds and Ornamental Lakes in the Historic Environment, Swindon Google Scholar
Evans, J. 1993: ‘Pottery function and finewares in the Roman North’, Journal of Roman Pottery Studies 6, 95–118 Google Scholar
Evans, J. 2001: ‘Material approaches to the identification of different Romano-British site types’, in James and Millett 2001, 26–35Google Scholar
Fulford, M. 2001: ‘Links with the past: pervasive “ritual” behaviour in Roman Britain’, Britannia 32, 199–218 Google Scholar
Garcia, L., and Pons, E. 2011: ‘The archaeological identification of feasts and banquets: theoretical notes and the case of Mas Castellar’, in Jiménez, G.A., Montón-Subías, S. and Romero, M.S. (eds), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner: Feasting Rituals in the Prehistoric Societies of Europe and the Near East, Oxford, 224–45Google Scholar
Gardner, R. 2004: Haverhill Business Park, Sturmer, Essex: a Post-Excavation Assessment of the Archaeological Excavation, 2003, Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service Report 2003/117, IpswichGoogle Scholar
Gidney, L. 2012: ‘Faunal remains analysis’, in Arrowsmith and Power 2012, 158–69Google Scholar
Grant, A. 1989: ‘Animals in Roman Britain’, in Todd, M. (ed.), Research on Roman Britain: 1960–1989, Britannia Monograph 11, London, 135–46Google Scholar
Greig, J. 1997: ‘Environmental remains (pollen remains)’, in Hurst, J.D. and Pearson, E.A., Broadway Bypass: Assessment and Post-Fieldwork Proposal, Hereford and Worcester County Archaeological Service Internal Report 631, Worcester Google Scholar
Greig, J. 1999: ‘Pollen', in S.C. Palmer, ‘Archaeological excavations in the Arrow Valley, Warwickshire’, Transactions Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society 103, 176–9Google Scholar
*Griffin, L. 2012: ‘Pottery’, in Hurst et al. 2012, 21–33Google Scholar
Griffin, L. 2013: ‘Roman pottery’, in Webster, J., Excavations at Church Farm West, Ball Mill Quarry, Grimley, Worcestershire, Worcestershire Archaeology, Worcestershire County Council Internal Report 1906, Worcester, 29–42 Google Scholar
Groot, M. 2008: Animals in Ritual and Economy in a Roman Frontier Community: Excavations in Teil Passewaaij, Amsterdam Archaeological Studies 12, Amsterdam Google Scholar
Higbee, L. 2011: ‘Animal bone’, in Powell 2011, 70–8Google Scholar
Hurst, J.D. (ed.) 1997: A Multi-Period Salt Production Site at Droitwich: Excavations at Upwich, CBA Research Report 107, Worcester Google Scholar
*Hurst, D. 2012: ‘Structural evidence’, in Hurst et al. 2012, 9–21Google Scholar
*Hurst, D., Daffern, N., Elgy, C., Griffin, L., Head, K., Humphreys, N., Ives, R., Jackson, R., King, C., Mann, A., Pearson, E., and Warman, S. 2012: Excavation at George Lane, Wyre Piddle, Worcestershire, Worcestershire Historic Environment & Archaeology Service Report 1943, Worcester Google Scholar
Ingham, D., and Bell, A. 2009: Huckle Hill (Area 4) The Wixams: Assessment of Potential and Updated Project Design, Albion Archaeology Report 2007/96, Bedford Google Scholar
James, S., and Millett, M. (eds) 2001: Britons and Romans: Advancing an Archaeological Agenda, CBA Research Report 125, York Google Scholar
Lewis, J., and Batt, A. 2006: ‘The emergence of the agricultural landscape from the Early–Middle Bronze Age to the end of the Early Iron Age (c 1700–400 BC)’, in Lewis et al. 2006, 95–168Google Scholar
Lewis, J., Brown, F., Batt, A., Cooke, N., Barrett, J., Every, R., Mepham, L., Brown, K., Cramp, K., Lawson, A., Roe, F., Allen, S., Petts, D., McKinley, J., Carruthers, W., Challinor, D., Wiltshire, P., Robinson, M., Lewis, H., and Bates, M. 2006: Landscape Evolution in the Middle Thames Valley: Heathrow Terminal 5 Excavations, Vol. 1, Framework Archaeology Monograph 1, Oxford Google Scholar
Lucas, R.N. 1993: The Romano-British Villa at Halstock, Dorset: Excavations 1967–1985, Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society Monograph 13, Dorchester Google Scholar
Maltby, M. 2007: ‘Chop and change: specialist cattle carcass processing in Roman Britain’, in Croxford, B., Ray, N. and Roth, R. (eds), TRAC 2006. Proceedings of the 16th Annual Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference, Oxford, 59–76 Google Scholar
Mann, A. 2012: ‘Mollusca’, in Hurst et al. 2012, 68–70Google Scholar
Miles, D., Palmer, S., Smith, A., and Jones, G. 2007: Iron Age and Roman Settlement in the Upper Thames Valley, Oxford Archaeology Thames Valley Landscapes Monograph 26, Oxford Google Scholar
Millett, M. (ed.) 2006: Shiptonthorpe, East Yorkshire: Archaeological Studies of a Romano-British Roadside Settlement, Yorkshire Archaeological Report 5, Leeds Google Scholar
Millett, M., and Taylor, J. 2006: ‘Stratigraphic sequences’, in Millett 2006, 38–74Google Scholar
Moloney, C. 1994: Birmingham Northern Relief Road: Crane Brook, Wall, Staffordshire Archaeological Evaluation, Oxford Archaeological Unit, Oxford Google Scholar
Neal, D.S. 1974: The Excavation of the Roman Villa in Gadebridge Park, Hemel Hempstead, 1963–8, Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London 31, London Google Scholar
O'Connor, T.P. 1993: ‘Process and terminology in mammal carcass reduction’, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 3, 63–7Google Scholar
Peachey, M. 2002: Generals Farm, Boreham, Essex: Archaeological Evaluation and Monitoring, Essex County Council Field Archaeology Unit, Chelmsford Google Scholar
Pearson, E. 2014: A Toolkit for Rapid Assessment of Small Wetland Sites. Available online at https://content.historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/toolkit-rapid-assessment-small-wetland-sites/6244-small-wetlands-report-ver2.pdf/ Google Scholar
Phillips, T. 2013: Archaeological Evaluation on Land North-West of Ely, Oxford Archaeology East Report 1448, Oxford. Available online at http://library.thehumanjourney.net/1339/ Google Scholar
Powell, A.B. 2011: An Iron Age Enclosure and Romano-British Features at High Post, near Salisbury, Wessex Archaeology, Salisbury Google Scholar
Shelley, A., and Green, F. 2007: An Archaeological Excavation at Myrtle Road, Hethersett: Assessment and Updated Project Design, Norfolk Archaeological Unit Archaeology Report 1105, Norwich Google Scholar
Smith, A., and Powell, K. 2010: ‘In the shadow of Corinium – the later Iron Age to late Roman period’, in Powell, K., Smith, A. and Laws, G., Evolution of a Farming Community in the Upper Thames Valley, vol. 1: Site Narrative and Overview, Oxford Archaeology Thames Valley Landscapes Monograph 31, Oxford Google Scholar
Thorne, A., and Chapman, A. 2004: Further Excavation at Wootton Fields Roman Villa, Northampton, 2002, Northamptonshire Archaeology, Northampton Google Scholar
Turner, R. 1999: Excavation of an Iron Age Settlement and Roman Religious Complex at Ivy Chimneys, Witham, Essex, 1978–83, East Anglian Archaeology Report 88, Norwich Google Scholar
Upex, S. 2004: ‘The uses and functions of ponds within early landscapes in the east Midlands’, Agricultural History Review 52 (pt 2), 125–40Google Scholar
*Warman, S. 2012: ‘Animal bone’, in Hurst et al. 2012, 42–55Google Scholar
Williams, R.J., and Zeepvat, R.J. 1994: Bancroft: a Late Bronze Age/Iron Age Settlement, Roman Villa & Temple-Mausoleum (2 vols), Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society, Aylesbury Google Scholar
Woodward, A., and Leach, P. 1993: The Uley Shrines: Excavation of a Ritual Complex on West Hill, Uley, Gloucestershire, 1977–9, English Heritage Archaeological Report 17, London Google Scholar
Zeepvat, R.J. 1988: ‘Fishponds in Roman Britain’, in Aston, M. (ed.), Medieval Fisheries and Fishponds in England, BAR British Series 182(i), Oxford, 17–25 Google Scholar