011AB00288

Ditch

All Contexts and Associated Finds Totals

CUT  FILL VOLUME OBJECTS AN BONE DENSITY
GRAVEL LAYER 011AB00253 4 33
011AB00288 011AB00234   3 6  
011AB00235 3 7
011AB00239 0 0
011AB00241 1 5
011AB00275 011AB00246 1 2
011AB00289 011AB00254 3 5

Discussion

Before the ditch was fully defined, a layer of chalky gravel (a stream channel deposit) had to be removed from the southern part of the ditch. The ditch itself was excavated in three segments, with the central segment excavated in four arbitrary spits of 10cm each. Relatively few finds (11) were recovered from the ditch fills, which were generally a sandy silty loam (Munsell 10/YR/33 to 10/YR/43), with larger chalk inclusions in the upper part of the fill. The pottery was Romano-British and Unassigned in date, although a sandstone whetstone, some Niedermendig lava quern and unfired clay indicate an Anglian date for the feature. As with most of the features in the machine cut trench, the animal bones recovered were generally quite large in size in comparison to the animal bones recovered from the rest of the site. Ditch segment 011AB00275 demonstrated that this ditch cut the earlier 011AB00274.
The angle of the ditch implies that (like 011AB00277, 011AB00279 and 011AB00272) it was acting as a form of water control for the stream channel, possibly controlling the flow into a mill pond which is believed to exist just to the north.

Context Details

011AB00253 Notes

KEY_ID TYPE SHAPE L B D PROFILE NOTES
011AB00253 GRAVEL LAYER RECTANGULAR
410
140
3
 FLAT THIS LAYER SEALED THE DITCH 11AB234/11AB254. CONTAINED A LARGE NUMBER OF ANIMAL BONES

011AB00288 Notes

KEY_ID TYPE SHAPE L B D PROFILE NOTES
011AB00234 DITCH FILL LINEAR
69
89
10
 U-SHAPED CHALKY GRAVEL INCLUSIONS 10% 0.2-4CM DIAMETER. IRON PAN STAINING EVIDENT THROUGHOUT THE SPIT.
011AB00235 DITCH FILL LINEAR
69
79
10
 U-SHAPED CHARCOAL FLECKING WAS EVIDENT. CHALK INCLUSIONS 5% INCLUDING LARGE FRAGMENTS UP TO 7CM IN DIAMETER.
011AB00239 DITCH FILL LINEAR
68
70
10
 U-SHAPED CHALKY GRAVEL INCLUSIONS 20% 0.3-1CM IN DIAMETER. LOCAL FLINT NODULES WERE FOUND IN THIS LAYER.
011AB00241 DITCH FILL LINEAR
115
63
8
 FLAT BASED U CHARCOAL FLECKING. LARGE BONES FOUND IN S SIDE. STICKY TEXTURE.
011AB00288 DITCH CUT LINEAR
118
89
38
 FLAT BASED U IT IS LIKELY THAT THIS DITCH CUT 274. BOTH ACT EITHER AS DRAINAGE DITCHES OR AS WATER CHANNELS.

011AB00289 Notes

KEY_ID TYPE SHAPE L B D PROFILE NOTES
011AB00254 DITCH FILL LINEAR
171
70
33
 U-SHAPED CHALKY GRAVEL INCLUSIONS 5% 0.2-3 CM IN DIAMETER. FEW FINDS OF ANIMAL BONE.
011AB00289 DITCH CUT LINEAR
171
70
33
 U-SHAPED THE DITCH IS EQUAL TO CUT 288.

011AB00275 Notes

KEY_ID TYPE SHAPE L B D PROFILE NOTES
011AB00246 DITCH FILL LINEAR
60
46
32
 U-SHAPED SOIL HAS CHALK GRAVEL INCLUSIONS OF ABOUT 15% THE DITCH CUTS THROUGH 238 AND IS THUS LATER. SMALL ANIMAL BONES WERE FOUND.
011AB00275 DITCH CUT LINEAR
60
46
32
 U-SHAPED THE SIDES OF THE DITCH ARE WELL-DEFINED AND VERTICAL.

Objects

KEY_ID OB PERIOD MATERIAL TYPE SUB_TYPE CLASS No
011AB00234 AA ROMAN POTTERY SHERD   ROMANO-BRITISH
1
011AB00234 AB PREHISTORIC POTTERY SHERD    
1
011AB00234 AC ROMAN POTTERY SHERD   ROMANO-BRITISH
1
011AB00235 AA ANGLIAN FIRED CLAY FIRED CLAY    
1
011AB00235 AB Unassigned POTTERY SHERD    
1
011AB00235 AC Unassigned STONE PEBBLE    
1
011AB00241 AA ROMAN POTTERY SHERD   ROMANO-BRITISH
1
011AB00246 AA ANGLIAN WORKED STONE WHETSTONE SANDSTONE SST.WHETSTONE
1
011AB00254 AA PREHISTORIC POTTERY SHERD    
1
011AB00254 AB ANGLIAN UTILISED STONE LAVA NIEDERMENDIG  
15
011AB00254 AC Unassigned STONE STONE   QUARTZITE
1
KEY_ID OB PERIOD MATERIAL TYPE SUB_TYPE CLASS No
011AB00253 AA ANGLIAN UTILISED STONE LAVA NIEDERMENDIG QUERN FRAG
1
011AB00253 AB ROMAN POTTERY SHERD   GREY WARE
1
011AB00253 AC ANGLIAN UTILISED STONE LAVA NIEDERMENDIG  
12
011AB00253 AD ANGLIAN UTILISED STONE LAVA NIEDERMENDIG  
6

Animal Bones

KEY_ID SPECIES ELEMENT QUANT CHEW BURN BUTCH FBRK
011AB00234 Cattle Astragalus 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00234 Cattle Mandible 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00234 Cattle Tibia D 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00234 Horse Tibia D 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00234 Sheep/Goat Femur br 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00234 Sheep/Goat Pelvis 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00235 Cattle M/C C 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00235 Cattle N.Cuboid 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00235 Cattle Phalanx 1 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00235 Cattle Phalanx 3 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00235 Horse Radius P 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00235 Pig Phalanx 3 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00235 Sheep/Goat Scapula 1
0
 0 0 1
011AB00241 Sheep/Goat M/T D 1
0
 0 0 1
011AB00241 Sheep/Goat M/T P 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00241 Sheep/Goat Radius P 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00241 Sheep/Goat Scapula 1
1
 0 0 1
011AB00241 Sheep/Goat Tibia D 1
0
 0 0 1
011AB00246 Amphibian spp. Other
1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00246 Sheep/Goat Mand fr 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00254 Cattle Calcaneum 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00254 Horse Humerus D 1
0
 0 0 1
011AB00254 Horse Mand fr 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00254 Pig U Canine 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00254 Sheep/Goat Phalanx 2 1
0
 1 0 0
KEY_ID SPECIES ELEMENT QUANT CHEW BURN BUTCH FBRK
011AB00253 Cattle Astragalus 2
0
 0 0 1
011AB00253 Cattle Astragalus 1
1
 0 0 1
011AB00253 Cattle Astragalus 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00253 Cattle Femur D 1
0
 0 0 1
011AB00253 Cattle Femur D 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00253 Cattle Femur P 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00253 Cattle Horncore 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00253 Cattle Humerus br 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00253 Cattle M/C C 1
0
 0 0 1
011AB00253 Cattle M/C D 1
1
 0 0 0
011AB00253 Cattle M/podial 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00253 Cattle M/T C 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00253 Cattle M/T D 1
0
 0 0 1
011AB00253 Cattle N.Cuboid 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00253 Cattle Occiput 1
0
 0 1 0
011AB00253 Cattle Pelvis 1
0
 0 0 1
011AB00253 Cattle Phalanx 1 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00253 Cattle Phalanx 2 2
0
 0 0 0
011AB00253 Cattle Phalanx 3 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00253 Cattle Skull fr 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00253 Domestic fowl/Pheasant Coracoid 1
0
 0 0 1
011AB00253 Horse Calcaneum 1
0
 0 0 1
011AB00253 Horse Calcaneum 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00253 Horse Femur P 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00253 Horse Tibia D 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00253 Horse Tibia D 2
1
 0 0 1
011AB00253 Sheep/Goat Humerus D 2
1
 0 0 1
011AB00253 Sheep/Goat LM3 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00253 Sheep/Goat Mand fr 1
0
 0 0 1
011AB00253 Sheep/Goat Patella 1
1
 0 0 0
011AB00253 Sheep/Goat Radius D 1
0
 0 0 1
011AB00253 Sheep/Goat Radius P 1
0
 0 0 0
011AB00253 Sheep/Goat Tibia D 1
0
 0 0 0