Monument record 4545 - Birch Heath Romano-British Settlement

Excavation in advance of the construction of a pipeline revealed a small Romano-British rural settlement occupied from the late first century AD till the mid third century AD. The settlement consisted of three round houses, boundary enclosures and a number of liner features and pits.

Roundhouse 1 (Structure 1) was defined by a sub circular drip gully and was associated with four pits, from one of which a small quantity of pottery, charcoal and pot boilers were recovered.

Roundhouse 2 (Structure 2) was defined by a sub circular drip gully which contained a large quantity of charcoal, samples taken for radiocarbon dating gave a date of AD70-350 (1825 +/- 55 BP), consistent with the pottery recovered and may suggest the feature burnt down. It contained evidence for the structure of the building in the form of a number of post/stake holes and a linear gully. Soil samples taken from the structural features produced a range of diagnostic environmental material (seeds and emmer/spelt grain and fragments of mineralised wood.

Roundhouse 3 (Structure 4) was defined by a curvilinear ditch, possibly part of another drip gully. The largest amount of pottery and burnt bone, including burnt daub, came from this feature. A deep centrally located pit in part of the gully contained emmer and spelt grains, hazelnut shells and large pieces of sandstone, interpreted as post packing.

A clay backfilled double ditch, a possible enclosure ditch, ditches and gullies, (one containing a dump of domestic material at its terminal end) possibly parts of a field or enclosure system, a stone lined feature of unknown function and a four post structure were also excavated.

The settlement does not appear to show any evidence for pre-Roman activity however it is possible that some of the ditches represent an earlier agricultural phase. The beggining of the main period of occupation is represented by the enclosure of part of the settlement and the construction of Roundhouse 3 (Structure 4). Roundhouses 1 and 2 (Structures 1 and 2) were unenclosed and may have been constructed after, though the evidence for this is ambiguous. The absence of certain pottery types suggest the site was abandoned sometime after 250AD and may be associated with the burning of Roundhouse 2 (Structure 2).

It is probable that the site continues outside the excavated area (2).

<1> Network Archaeology, 2004, Birch Heath to Mickle Trafford Gas Pipeline: Archaeological Evaluation, Excavation & Watching Brief 2001. Volumes 1-2, Report & Appendices, R2588.1 (Client Report). SCH4658.

<2> Chester Archaeological Society, Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society, Fairburn et al 2002 vol.77/p.59 (Journal/Periodical). SCH1595.