Trial excavation following the discovery of a Ro brooch. Hut circle, inside a small hearth for smelting bronze - slag and bronze in association. Occupation area outside - pottery, hand made copies of Belgic forms. Several ditches, some recut several times. Pottery IA C derived and Ro. Traces of Ro wattle and daub buildings. Possibly some late Ro occupation, but destroyed in ploughing - late pottery was turning up in the ploughsoil. Pottery overall c 30-400 AD. (1)
Site of excavation corrected by BR Minnitt. DM state that all material now with DOE. Site under crop, 2 C3-C4 grey ware sherds picked up. (3)
See (4) for draft report which contains more pottery illustations than (5).
The site lies about a mile east of the village of Rampton and a quarter of a mile (400m) west of the river Trent. Evidence of occupation was spread over a low river terrace of alluvial sand which is raised slightly above the present flood-plain of the Trent. (5)
Most of the excavated features at Moor Pool Close date from the late Iron Age and Romano-British periods. The E margin of settlement coincides with the outer edge of the NE palaeochannel. The sealing of features and deposits on lower lying parts of the site by layers of alluvium implies the site could have been abandoned eventually in response to progressive flooding. An early rectilinear field system, modified significantly during use, has been postulated on the W fringes of the site (Phase 2). Components of this early boundary system were cut by the SW corner of a large subrectangular enclosure (Phase 3). This may represent a modification rather than a replacement of the Phase 2 system and appears to have been divided internally by several W-E ditches linked stratigraphically to a system of smaller rectilinear enclosures. The E boundary could be demarcated by a pit alignment running N-S. The next major phase of reorganisation (Phase 4) may be represented by a large subrectangular enclosure located on the floodplain terrace adjacent to the N-E palaeochannel. It could either have replaced the earlier enclosure or divided the enclosed area into two compartments, each subdivided internally. The phase 4 enclosure appears to be related to the pit alignment, which could have defined the E boundary of a trackway leading to the low lying and probably poorly drained area corresponding to the infilled palaeochannel, perhaps a corridor leading to rich pasture and water along which stock could be lead. A final phase may be represented by a rectilinear pattern of narrow gullies, could signify a late system of small fenced enclosures. The internal organisation of the two large enclosures suggests that during the later Roman period, if not earlier, the site may have been occupied by a community significantly larger than the extended family groups which could be postulated for the majority of RB rural settlements in this region. We might envisage, therefore, a settlement of 'village' rather than farmstead status. Another remarkable feature is the thick artefact rich deposit which survived beneath the topsoil over an area correlating with the main focus of occupation. This incorporated stratified RB hearths and clay floors at several levels. Some RB features had cut through this deposit, while others were sealed by it. The material incorporated within this deposit could have come from a variety of sources, including domestic and industrial hearths, demolished buildings and domestic middens. (8)
See L4698, L10635 & L10641 for finds, L10635-42 for individual excavation elements.
See M18353 for early Iron Age settlement, M18354 for Beaker funerary activity

<1> EMAB eds, 1966, East Midlands Archaeological Bulletin, pp 41-3 (Published document). SNT160.

<2> Society for … Ro Studies, 1967, JRS, p 183 (Published document). SNT211.

<3> Colquhoun FD, 1974, Pers Comm (Personal comment). SNT582.

<4> Ponsford MW, A Late Iron Age and Romano-British Settlement at Rampton, Notts (draft) (Article in serial). SNT1152.

<5> Thoroton Society, 1992, TTS, pp 91-122 (Serial). SNT1472.

<6> TPAT, Aug 1996, Report on the Archaeological Watching Brief on the Line of Two Pipelines Across the Late Iron - Age and Romano British Site at Rampton, Nottinghamshire March - June 1966 [sic, 1996] (Unpublished document). SNT2271.

<7> TPAT, Nov 1996, Report on the Watching Brief Conducted at Rampton, North Nottinghamshire March - July 1996 (Unpublished document). SNT2272.

<8> TPAT, May 2000, An Iron Age and Romano British Settlement at Moor Pool Close, Rampton, Nottinghamshire. Summary of Watching Brief and Excavations from June 1999 to January 2000, pp 12, 20, 21 (Unpublished document). SNT2273.