NHER 7955 (Monument record) - Roman ironwork, pottery sherds, animal bones and ditches

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Summary

In 1905, at gravel pits south of the Scole to Harleston road, Roman ironwork was recovered. This included at least four spearheads, with cast or closed sockets, a socketed javelin, a staple, parts of a lock and some pottery sherds and horse bones. These appear to have come from some ditches which may form a rectilinear enclosure, and a large ditch almost 100m long, which appears to have separated the site from the nearby River Waveney. This has led the site to be interpreted as a Roman military fort, although this interpretation seem unlikely.

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Location

Map sheet TM17NE
Civil Parish SCOLE, SOUTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Map

Gravel pit south of Scole - Harleston road, Scole.

1905.
Apparently south of The Shrubbery in Scole parish (though said by (S1) to be in Billingford) from trenches 6ft x 3ft (0.9m x 1.8m) in surface soil came ironwork including at least four spearheads, with cast or closed sockets, socketed javelin, staple, lock and part of lock, 'small bronze ornament or base of vase', twenty-three wheel turned sherds, original report by Dutt reported human bones but (S2) informed by R. R. Clarke (NCM) that man who dug the gravel for Mr Crawshay reports that no bones except those of a horse were found. Mrs Crawshay reported to Gale in 1938 that she visited the site several times while gravel was dug and that there were 'six or seven trenches on each side of a large square'. Gale thought there was a large ditch 250' (76m) long, 30' (9.1m) wide and 12' - 15' (3.6m x 4.6m) deep between site and Waveney and that this was the remains of a Roman fort, with multiple ditches.
The evidence for a fort appears quite insufficient
R. R. Clarke (NCM).

The pottery and bronze object are lost and also bones. C. H. Gale (1938) had a Roman bronze brooch and an iron link but present whereabouts unknown. NCM has iron objects but not the javelin. [1]
R. R. Clarke (NCM).

Copy of brooch drawing in secondary file (S6).

  • --- Article in Serial: Dutt, W. A. 1913. Roman Interments at Scole. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia. Vol I Pt III (for 1912-13) pp 321-323.
  • --- Article in Serial: Gale, C. H and Moore, I. E. 1936. Roman Remains in Scole. Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and Natural History. Vol XXII Pt 3 pp 263-286.
  • --- Article in Serial: Gale, C. H. 1937. The Romans in Scole. East Anglian Magazine. May, pp 306-307.
  • --- Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Roman. Scole.
  • --- Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
  • --- Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TM 17 NE 20.
  • --- Secondary File: Secondary File.
  • <S1> Article in Serial: Gale, C. H. 1939. Evidence of a Roman Fort at Billingford near Scole. Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and Natural History. Vol XXIII Pt 2 pp 173-174.
  • <S2> Unpublished Document: Gale. 1938. [unknown]. 2.
  • <S3> Article in Serial: 1911. Summary of Proceedings. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia. Vol I Pt I (for 1909-1910) pp 109-121. p 112.
  • <S4> Article in Serial: Gale, C. H and Moore, I. E. 1936. Roman Remains in Scole. Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and Natural History. Vol XXII Pt 3 pp 263-286. p 269.
  • <S5> Article in Serial: 1939. Antiquity. Antiquity. Vol XIII, p 89-90 Fig.3.
  • <S6> Illustration: Finds Illustrations.
  • ANIMAL REMAINS (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • BROOCH (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • LOCKING MECHANISM (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • POT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • SPEAR (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • VESSEL (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)

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Record last edited

Nov 27 2025 4:44PM

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