Page 21 - link magazine

Swindon Wide 21

What did the Romans do for us?
A lot more than leaving a few artifacts in the ground, according to Dr Pete Wilson. Senior Archaeologist for English Heritage Centre for
Archaeology, who led this year's big dig on Groundwell Ridge in North Swindon.
The 2004 excava- We excavated the much about the appearance of the ti on in the local press. the pres-
tion season of the cold plunge bath, building. ence of one votive object does not
Beacon Project in which was shown to We also recovered over 50 coins turn the site into a religious sanctu-
partnership with Swin- be re-floored while in and other bronze objects including ary. Religion was so intermingled
don Borough Council use, and parts of two fragments of bracelets and part of with everyday life in the Roman
was a great success. other rooms in the a possibly pre-Roman brooch. Our period that not finding some reli-
with wonderful ar- cold range, including most spectacular find was a lead gious objects on the site would be
chaeology. extensive one where, late in its votive plaque in the form of a Ro- more surprising than finding the
community involve- history, a start was man goddess, possibly Isis, an odd one!
ment, large numbers made on inserting a Egyptian deity who was wor- We are now starting the long
of visitors and lots of hypocaust, although it shipped in the west of the Empire haul of trying to understand what it
media interest. We was never completed and equated with many Roman all means in detail.
were again working —we could find no evi- female gods. • Heritage Weekend events in other
with the Wyvern His- dence of an associ- Unfortunately, despite specula- parts of Swindon on page 22.
torical and Detector ated furnace, or any
Found at Groundwef/.
Society and again had evidence of soot or
/sis or another Roman
to get a special licence charcoal carried into
goddess? Virginia Catering Services
to allow metal detect- the under-floor area
ing on this important legally pro- by the hot air that would have
tected site. heated it. The area of the hot range
= = Corporate/Private
Two trenches were excavated - was so complicated that we did not
Trench 6 over part of a Roman get down to its original plan. but * Weddings
building discovered by builders in demonstrated a complex series of
Function/Events
1996 and limited trial excavations changes, including the creation of
undertaken with minimal resources a major apsidal room. Parties/Buffets
by local archaeologists Bryn Outside the bath-suite we exca-
Walters and Bernard Phillips in vated part of a cellar with walls Menus designed to your requirements,
1997. The second - Trench 7 across over 1.5m high. This room also catering for all occasions.
a possible Roman road recognised had a complex structural history Call Virginia now to discuss your needs
by Dr Mark Corney in an earthwork with blocked niches, or possibly
survey. windows in its walls, up to three Telephone: 01793 525985
Much of Trench 6 was occupied layers of plaster and, most surpris- Mobile: 07879 830907
by a bath suite that formed part of ingly, water-logged oak floor joists
a larger building — one of two do- surviving at the limit of excavation.
mestic ranges of a Roman villa. In Trench 7 we confirmed that
Given that the site is not threat- the feature recognised by Mark
ened we knew that we were un- Corney was a minor Roman road
li kely to 'get to the bottom' of the with an aggeror mound constructed
archaeology and we didn't. of local clay mixed with the local
What we thought, on the basis of coral ragstone. Cut into the south Thamesdown Transport, formerly
the evaluations done in 1997, was ditch of the Roman road we also Swindon Corporation, is celebrating
going to be a fairly straight-forward found the 16th Century or later con- it's Centenary this year and you can
building - perhaps of two phases - duit that we encountered last year. be part of the celebrations!
turned-out to be much more com- A wide range of finds were re-
plex. It appears that we may have covered including pottery. both
• Look out for our gold Centenary Bus
five or six structural phases includ- types produced in the Swindon area • Exhibition
ing a massive timber building con- and some imported from as far • Competitions
structed over the demolished bath- away as the Mediterranean. Large • Souvenirs, including model buses &
suite. As yet we are not certain of quantities of building material were centenary brochure.
the date of the timber building. it found including ceramic tiles, • Special services using our 1967 Daimler
could be late Roman, or later. bricks, stone roofing tiles, window CVG6/30 on Saturdays until 11th September.
The bath suite appears to have glass and painted wall plaster.
been in use from the 2nd to the 4th which will help us to understand
Century — we have
hints of 1st Century
occupation, including
one possible 1 st Cen-
tury pit. • Large display of visiting vehicles.
• Enthusiasts Stalls.
Archaeologist Nick • Museum Exhibits (buses too!) open to
Corcos plotting the visitors.
co/dp/unge bath, lined
• Special display of Swindon buses.
with opus signinum
(waterproof Roman • Five minute bus service around the site.
concrete. In the fore- a-. • Downland Excursions by vintage coach.
ground a large post- • Free bus service from Fleming Way Stop V.
hole from our /ate tirn-
berbui/ding cut into its
south-eastern corner 't 01793 428428 for more details
in the bottom of the
post-hole was found
an earlier floor of the
cold plunge.