Once the heavily disturbed clay layer was removed from the south-facing side of the bank, a much firmer layer of pinkish clay was discovered. At the bottom of the bank, this layer dropped away sharply, revealing a much softer brown soil sandwiched between the pink clay and some silty rubble. This was interpreted as the potential remains of a slot for a timber revetment, being held in place by the rubble, designed to contain the rampart material (pink clay) and prevent it from slumping back into the camp.
The pink clay was believed to be redeposited natural subsoil used by the Roman military to construct the bank. A large sondage (slot) was therefore dug into this layer to establish its full extent.
In the northern half of the trench, the team removed the bulk of the rubble deposits which included a number of modern or nineteenth century glass fragments and ceramic sherds. Beneath the the lowest layer of rubble was a smashed nineteenth century field drain segment, therefore these deposits do not relate directly to the Roman structure. It may be that the ditch of the camp was incorporated into a simple rubble drainage system relating to the modern road.
With these contexts removed, the next task was to investigate the lower soils filling the ditch to better understand the Roman structural features of the ditch, how it had been cut, and how it relates to rampart.
Interesting to follow your work on the field!
ReplyDelete