GLOUCESTERSHIRE
(1) Cirencester, 8, Corinium Gate (SP 0281 0209): an archaeological evaluation was undertaken atop the partially extant defences of Roman Corinium.Footnote 107 Three hand-excavated trenches measuring approximately 1 m by 1 m in size were taken down to the top of the first archaeological horizon. Evidence of the Roman rampart was observed but the Roman wall was not seen. Roman pottery sherds dated between the first and third century a.d. were recovered.Footnote 108
(2) Gloucester, 23–25 and 27–29 Commercial Road (SO 82898 18388): a watching brief recorded multiple phases of substantial ditches, immediately outside the line of the Roman and medieval city walls of Gloucester. Two of the ditches correlate closely with the alignment of the Roman defences along the south-western circuit of the town, and it is possible that they represent an associated defensive ditch.Footnote 109
(3) Matson, Winnycroft (SO 85310 14280): an open-area excavation, totalling c. 1.2 ha, was targeted upon a preceding geophysical survey and trial-trench evaluation in 2014 which had established the presence of two groups of late Iron Age and Roman enclosures, mainly comprising ditches. A small assemblage of struck flint provided limited evidence of a presence in the wider landscape during earlier prehistory. A middle to late Iron Age radiocarbon date showed that at least one small penannular enclosure, probably domestic, was established in the south-east part of the excavation area. Larger and deeper enclosures 12–15 m wide to the north-west were perhaps used for stock control. These enclosures and other early elements of the site could not be closely dated and may have been Iron Age or early Roman in date.
By the early Roman period, two adjacent groups of enclosures had emerged. In the south-east, a further small penannular enclosure and a larger curvilinear enclosure were added to the existing settlement, and other boundaries recut, while to the north-west a line of three enclosures developed. There were few pits, but a large storage jar was set into the ground just outside the south-east enclosures, possibly for storage purposes.
In the early to middle Roman period the enclosures in both areas were supplemented by a larger enclosure. In the south-eastern part of the site this encompassed almost all of the previous features and it also extended further north. A large enclosure was also added in the north-western part of the site, to the west of the three conjoined enclosures, with further small enclosures extending north-westwards and northwards from it, beyond the limits of the site. One of these enclosed a small penannular enclosure. Both large enclosures were subdivided by narrow, straight ditches. To the east of the original three conjoined enclosures, a trackway led into a further enclosure, whose many entrances suggest a strong emphasis on stock control.
In the middle Roman period, the south-eastern enclosures saw only minor changes, but to the north-west a single enclosure was dug at the centre of the group and became the focus at the centre of the enclosed area, with three larger enclosures surrounding it.
No domestic buildings were found at the site, but one possible small timber building and two possible truncated ovens were identified. The pottery and other finds suggest a low-status farmstead largely concerned with pastoral agriculture, though several items of military horse harness suggest some contact with the military. The site was abandoned in the late second or early third century a.d. Footnote 110
(4) Wickwar II: a hoard of 70 silver Roman coins still contained within a ceramic vessel was found during metal detecting at the site of the discovery of an earlier treasure find (the first Wickwar hoardFootnote 111). The 70 silver Roman siliquae span the period a.d. 355–402, ending, as is common with hoards of this date, with siliquae of Arcadius and Honorius dated to a.d. 395–402. Many of the coins have been clipped to varying degrees, although generally not heavily compared to many hoards with this terminal date. The hoard was contained in a small ceramic beaker with a long neck provisionally identified as a narrow necked Severn Valley ware jar, as Webster (1976) type 1 (B&G).Footnote 112 Deposited a.d. 402 or later.Footnote 113
SOMERSET
(1) Nyland: a hoard of 1,701 Roman radiates was found associated with Roman pottery, including fragments of a container, and lifted as a block. The regular coinage included: sole reign of Gallienus, 1; Claudius II, 2; Divus Claudius, 1; Tetricus I, 2; Tetricus II, 1; Uncertain issuer, 3. Irregular radiates numbered 1691. Deposited c. a.d. 276‒85 or later.Footnote 114
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL
For supplementary material for this article please visit https://doi.org/10.1017/S0068113X24000485
