23rd December 2011:
A new book by Oxford Archaeology South presents the exciting findings of an excavation in 2008 at Kingshill North on the north-eastern edge of Cirencester.
Cirencester Before Corinium takes readers beyond the Roman foundation of the city and uncovers remarkable evidence for Neolithic gatherings, Bronze Age burials and Iron Age settlement.
Significant artefactual material, including Grooved Ware pottery, was recovered from pits dug in the late Neolithic, c 3500-2400 BC. The exceptional finds assemblage points to the seasonal gathering of people for the purpose of exchange and feasting. More evidence of ritual deposition was found in pits dug in the middle Iron Age, c 400-200 BC.
Two Beaker burials, dated c 2400-2000 BC, were recorded. Beaker burials are well known in southern England, but are rare in Gloucestershire. Their presence at Kingshill North is significant in itself, but information about the individuals adds to their importance. Both were females. Isotope analysis indicates that they were born outside the region in the chalkland areas of England, revealing something of the mobility of early Bronze Age populations.
Three burials were found in the enclosure ditch of the late Iron Age farming settlement, occupied between c 100 BC and AD 75. The site was abandoned before the town of Corinium Dobunnorum was established, and as such gives a unique view of Cirencester on the eve of Roman urbanisation. A cremation burial was placed in the ditch after the late 1st century AD. The rite was Roman, but the location harked back to earlier practices.
The book costs £15 and is available through Oxbow Books (http://www.oxbowbooks.com/), or from Oxford Archaeology.
23rd December 2011:
Almost 2,000 years of history has been unearthed by Network Rail engineers following the discovery of Roman bath house ruins on land being re-developed as part of the £5.5bn congestion-busting Thameslink programme. The ruins, which are believed to be one of the biggest Roman finds in London on the south side of the River Thames, have been uncovered on the corner of London Bridge Street and Borough High Street. The site has been earmarked for the construction of a new office block.
Network Rail has commissioned a team of specialist archaeologists from Oxford Archaeology and Pre-Construct Archaeology to excavate the site. Although work is at an early stage, the bath house appears to include a range of rooms including a cold plunge bath as well as hot rooms warmed by under floor heating. Elsewhere on the site, substantial walls are thought to belong to predecessors of St Thomas’ hospital, which used to stand on the site.
Chris Place, an archaeologist for Network Rail, said: “This is a significant find and offers a further insight into London’s long history. In Roman times the main settlement was on the north bank of the River Thames and was connected to the settlement at Southwark by the first London Bridge. Much archaeological work has been done in Southwark over the years, but we were still surprised to discover ruin of this nature and size.”
Network Rail, in agreement with the London Borough of Southwark, is exploring ways of preserving the remains beneath the new building to be constructed on the site. Where appropriate, key finds will be deposited with the Museum of London where they will be available for study by the public.
