NHER 17982 (Monument record) - Site of possible Roman bath house, Early Saxon inhumation cemetery and Middle Saxon settlement

Winter 1981 to 1982. Fieldwalking by Hales Survey (retains).
Roman sherds.
Tiles and flue tile.
Prehistoric flints (some clearly Neolithic, J. Wymer (NAU) 1985).
See list and map in file.
Identified by A. Rogerson (NAU) 15 March 1982.

1983.
Further finds including medieval and Middle Saxon ware.
D. Gurney (NAU) suggests Roman bath house or heated villa.

August 1993. Found with metal detecting.
Early Saxon brooches (S3 and S4) and metalwork (S5) suggesting presence of burials.
See list in file.
Medieval and Roman objects and coins.
See list in file.
Polaroid NCM.
J. Davies (NCM) 25 August 1993.

September 1993. Found with metal detecting.
Early Saxon annular brooch fragment. Pierced pin hole. Decorated with pairs of punched dots.
Early Saxon spade-shaped foot of small long brooch.
Polaroid NCM.
Medieval fastener, rectangular loop, folded attachment plate.
Identified by S. Margeson (NCM).
J. Davies (NCM) 2 November 1993.

The above finds August and September 1993 are now (1997) said by finder to come from site NHER 17184 Context 2 instead. However this was based on the marking on (S1); the boundaries have since changed. Therefore the record is maintained under both numbers.

January/February 1994. Metal detecting finds.
1 medieval coin, 1 medieval jetton. See list in file.
2 Roman brooches 1st century. Dolphin, hinge mechanism, silvered, pronounced rib along bow, with milled edge. Hod Hill type.
Lovely openwork medieval buckle plate, part missing, dragon in relief with backward-arching head, engraved features and border, stamps indicating folded wing. Polaroid in file.
Medieval ?buckle-plate fragment, gilded, with tapering bar on front and iron on reverse.
Medieval iron key, hollow stem, reniform bow, wards with tripartite division.
Medieval thimble, slightly conical, hand-punched.
Early post medieval thimble, hand-punched in spiral, 'bare' slightly conical top.
Identified by J. Davies and S.Margeson (NCM).
A. Rogerson (NLA) 3 June 1995.

February/March 1995.
Further Early Saxon brooches and wristclasp.
Roman coin.
See lists in file.
A. Rogerson (NLA) 9 June 1995.

August/September 1995. Metal detecting finds.
Small bronze oval Early Saxon buckle with pin and fragment of plate. cf. BAR 230, p.205 (34.61).
Lead circular medieval seal matrix. SIGIL : GALFRIDI : I DRI + Cinquefoil in centre.
Identified by S. Anderson (NCM).
A. Rogerson (NLA) 10 November 1995.

(S2) records this as Site 46, and discusses the Roman site in some detail. The site was also occupied in the Middle Saxon period, but was abandoned and remained unoccupied during the Late Saxon and medieval periods.
See (S2) for more details.
S. Spooner (NLA) 23 May 2006