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Record Details

NHER Number:6228
Type of record:Monument
Name:Roman building and multi-period finds

Summary

This Roman building was discovered in 1957 and was excavated by Gresham's School in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The excavations revealed two almost parallel ditches and a collapsed wall of wattle and daub sitting on a mortared flint foundation. Finds include Roman samian pottery, coins, glass, tile, bricks and copper alloy metal working waste. Later fieldwalking and metal-detecting has recovered a Mesolithic flint axehead and a number of additional Iron Age and Roman objects.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:Not displayed
Map Sheet:TG04SE
Parish:KELLING, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Full description

1957.
Pottery ploughed up.
Trial excavation of ditch and horse burial.

1969.
Scatter Roman pottery and brick.
It appears that slag from iron working was also recovered at this location - see notes in file.

Spring 1979. Excavations by Gresham's School.
Thick ash level or ditch fill.
Wall.
Pottery and Roman objects.

25 May 1979. Excavations by Gresham's School.
Plaster, wattle and daub, nails, floor tile, glass, pottery and animal bones.

June to July 1979. Excavations by Gresham's School.
Ditch running northeast to southwest.
Footings of mortared flint.

November 1979. Fieldwalking by Gresham's School.
Roman coin. See list in file.

Spring 1980. Excavations by Gresham's School.
Ditch 1m wide and 35cm deep.
Scatter of flue tiles, pottery roof tiles. At west end of scatter burnt daub.
Second section of ditch excavated on line of that previously recorded.

1980. Fieldwalking by Gresham's School.
Roman coin, pottery, daub and enamelled furniture knob.

Spring 1981. Excavations by Gresham's School. On area of burnt daub scatter.
Spreads of daub and Roman brick, pottery, coin, copper alloy working waste and partly melted objects.

1982. Excavations by Gresham's School.
Roman pottery.

See (S1) for details of the fieldwork undertaken by Gresham's Archaeological Society between 1978 and 1982. According to (S1) the site was discovered in 1957 and trial excavations recorded the skeleton of a horse. Fieldwalking and trial digging on a grid system located a "rubbish ditch" and proper excavation began in 1978. These excavations revealed two almost parallel ditches, the remains of a collapsed wall of wattle and daub and possibly its foundations. These have been interpreted as a villa.
M. Dennis (NLA), 18 April 2006. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 26 February 2014.

15 March 1993. Fieldwalking and metal-detecting.
Found by [1] in field to north of road (at [2]):
1 Mesolithic flint axe (2/3s only).
1 Neolithic flint scraper.
3 Roman coins, 1 lock pin or furniture/box handle.
1 undatable clay object which could be either wattle-marked daub or plaster with 'keyring' or decoration on surface.
All finds apart from the coins were donated to the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 1999.1.25.3). It appears that they were not initially reported to the NHER - the above list is taken from the museum's records. The coins were identified by J. Davies (NCM), see list in file.
A. Rogerson (NLA), 22 September 2008. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 31 July 2014.

Before 3 September 2004. Metal detecting.
Iron Age coin and brooch.
Roman and post medieval metal objects.
See lists in file.
A. Rogerson (NLA), 1 December 2004.

2009. Finds from Gresham School excavations are in store at the School.
See notes in file.
D. Gurney (NLA), 21 January 2009.

Monument Types

  • FINDSPOT (Mesolithic - 10000 BC to 4001 BC)
  • FINDSPOT (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • FINDSPOT (Iron Age - 800 BC to 42 AD)
  • BUILDING (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • DITCH (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • FINDSPOT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • POTTERY KILN (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • VILLA (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • WALL (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • FINDSPOT (Early Saxon - 410 AD to 650 AD)
  • FINDSPOT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Finds

  • (Undated)
  • UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT (Unknown date)
  • FLAKED AXEHEAD (Mesolithic - 10000 BC to 4001 BC)
  • SCRAPER (TOOL) (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • BROOCH (Iron Age - 800 BC to 42 AD)
  • COIN (Iron Age - 800 BC to 42 AD)
  • COIN (Iron Age - 800 BC to 42 AD)
  • ANIMAL REMAINS (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • ARCHITECTURAL FRAGMENT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • ARCHITECTURAL FRAGMENT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • ARCHITECTURAL FRAGMENT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • BROOCH (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • COIN (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • COIN (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • COIN (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • FLOOR TILE (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • FLUE TILE (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • FURNITURE FITTING (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • KNIFE (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • LOCK (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • METAL WORKING DEBRIS (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • MOLLUSCA REMAINS (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • NAIL (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • POT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • POT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • ROOF TILE (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
  • POT (Early Saxon - 411 AD to 650 AD)
  • FINGER RING (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
  • POT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Protected Status - none

Sources and further reading

---Article in Serial: 1982. Archaeological Discoveries for 1980. CBA Group VI Bulletin. No 27 pp 21-35. p 31.
---Article in Serial: 1983. [unknown]. Britannia. Vol XIV.
---Photograph: I & RS. Digital finds image.
---Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
---Illustration: Ashley, S.. 1980. Drawings of Romano British pottery sherds.. Film. 1:1.
---Article in Serial: 1981. Archaeological Discoveries for 1979. CBA Group VI Bulletin. No 26 pp 19-30. p 24.
---Article in Serial: Vines, A. 1981. Romano-British Site at Salthouse. Norfolk Research Committee Bulletin. Series 2 No 26 pp 9-13.
---Article in Serial: Barrett, M. J. 1982. Gresham's School Archaeological Society. CBA Group VI Bulletin. No 27 p 12.
---Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Roman. Kelling.
---Secondary File: Secondary File.
---Photograph: Gregory, A.. 1980. Film BPB. Thursford Castle..
---Collection: Norfolk Historic Environment Record Staff. 1975-[2000]. HER Record Notes. Norfolk Historic Environment Service.
---Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Miscellaneous. Kelling.
<S1>Unpublished Report: Barrett, M. J. and Vines, A. 1982. Report of the Gresham's Archaeological Society July 1982 on the Roman Settlement at Kelling, Norfolk.

Related records

27951Related to: Possible Roman field system (Monument)

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