Southwell Archaeology- the site of Southwell Community Archaeology Group (SCAG)

NEWS

Members of Southwell Community Archaeology Group (SCAG) filled the Old Court House to capacity at a meeting on Saturday 22 November to hear Ursilla Spence, Notts County Council’s Senior Archaeologist and Professor Phillip Dixon, Archaeologist to Southwell Minster Dean and Chapter.
The speakers were well received and gave an informative account of the present state of the archaeological investigations of the former Minster School site at Church Street Southwell.
There was a frank exchange of questions and information, details of which will shortly be available on SCAG’s web site www.southwellarchaeology.org.uk Most discussion related to what had been found so far, especially the massive wall, and what the findings might tell us about the scale of Roman activity in Southwell, which is certainly proving to be considerably greater than previously thought.
Extra trenches are to be dug to see if more information can be obtained. It appears likely at the moment that the dig will finish before Christmas.
Members considered and approved a constitution for the group and elected officers and a committee. Membership of SCAG, currently standing at more than forty, is open to all with an interest in promoting and preserving the archaeology of Southwell and is at a very affordable annual cost of £10. New members are welcome and no specialist knowledge is required. All that is needed is an interest in the rich archaeological history of Southwell and a wish to be involved in exciting future projects that are possible.

Southwell Community Archaeology Group
Meeting held 22nd November 2008
“ A brief note of the more significant exchanges”
Ms. Ursilla Spence (US) introduced herself as Senior Archaeological Officer for Nottinghamshire County Council and explained that she is acting as Adviser to Newark and Sherwood District Council on the Church Street application. Her role is to ensure compliance with Planning Policy Guidance PPG16 with an emphasis on maintaining good relations between NSDC and the developer to preserve as much of the archaeological remains as possible in situ. She acts in an advisory capacity and has no statutory powers. She is not a research archaeologist.
Professor Philip Dixon (PD) introduced himself as Archaeologist to Southwell Minster Dean and Chapter. He does have statutory powers to ensure compliance with the requirements of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission but his jurisdiction is over Chapter land only, not Church Commission land. The putative Roman villa spreads over land owned by Chapter, Church Commission and the developer.
Peter Harris (Town and District Councillor) asked what had been found and how it would be made publicly available. US explained that nearest the Minster a 4ft high wall comprising 2 foundation courses and 2 courses of wall had been found aligned approximately with Daniels’ 1959 ‘villa’ finds and returning eastwards at the southern end. Towards the middle of the site 3 or 4 grave cuts aligned east/west indicating Christian burial had been found, one contained some human remains. Towards Potwell Dyke there was a thick layer of white waterproof material into which were buried the remains of Roman buildings. It was thought that this could have been a quay.
Roger Dobson (Town Councillor) congratulated the archaeological team on their discoveries but expressed disappointment that the dig was to end before Christmas when there was still so much potential to find out more about the history of Southwell. US repeated that she was not a research archaeologist. The archaeology is not degradable and if built on would be preserved in situ for the lifetime of the proposed development as required by PPG16. PD thought that because of the need for constant pumping the cost of a full survey could be £1 million. Because of water the site could not be left exposed and preservation by record only was the only feasible option. He had previously thought that most of the story lay under the Dean’s garden and that Daniels’ results would be all he would ever know of it. He was delighted by the latest findings and felt that although the story may soon be closed it would not be lost.
Bruce Laughton (Nottinghamshire County Councillor) asked if there was anything he could do to help extend the dig. US replied that County Council money was already being spent.
Joy Brooke asked when permission was given for the building of the school. US replied that this was about the time of Daniels’ 1959 excavations when there was no PPG16. She thought significant remains must have been discovered and suggested an appeal to the public to declare previous finds. Any anecdotal evidence would also be valuable to understanding the full picture.
Tony Morris asked whether any ceramics had been found and whether there was any evidence of the villa extending to the playing fields. US understood very little had been found apart from lots of Roman brick and tile fragments. There was no sign of extension but the site was full of surprises. PD confirmed that it was extremely unusual not to find barrow loads of pottery on a Roman site and offered two possible explanations – the ‘cleanliness of palaces’ or a non domestic site.
Malcolm Rose confirmed that there was Roman rubbish in gardens in Farthingate. PD felt this had been dumped from elsewhere.
Beryl Calthrop on behalf of U3A Archaeology Group expressed disappointment that she had not been able to visit the site. US said that the developers had agreed in principle to further viewing and she was negotiating details which she hoped would include pumping out the wall area to improve visibility.
Barry Austen expressed strong objection to the intensity of the proposed development. It was explained that this matter was outside the scope of this meeting.
Peter Harris explained that if the extant planning permission scheme was amended NSDC could make approval of any new scheme conditional on extra archaeological investigations being carried out. US answered that she was keen to retain the developer’s cooperation and did not want to ask for specifically research questions to be answered.
Kate Sartain asked how the story would be told if the remains were covered and whether any funds would be available to do this. US confirmed that Pre-Construct will be producing ‘grey literature’ and will also probably want to publish in Transactions of the Thoroton Society. She may have funding to work with SCAG to produce something better. PD confirmed that he had agreed to produce a model of the villa for the previous Dean.
Bruce Laughton asked whether a 106 Agreement could be put in place so that the developer paid for protection of the wall and for an interpretation project by SCAG. US would try to avoid a 106 but can be absolutely certain that the wall will stay put and will be scheduled as an ancient monument.
Roger Dobson asked how much of the villa had been excavated. PD replied that most of the villa lay under Vicars Court and probably no more than 15% had been excavated.
Meg Murdoch asked for a bit about the story of the site. PD said the remains found to date were of higher quality than would be expected north of The Fosse. The tesserae were very good for the Midlands, the wall painting was the best in England and, if a villa wall, he had seen nothing of that quality beyond Rome or Southern France. He then speculated about why something so good might be here in Southwell. (PD has been asked for an article for our website.)
Trevor Wight asked for a plan of the finds. US was unsure whether this could be done because of the amount of disturbance in the past.
Chris Knight asked whether, bearing in mind that the wall was to be scheduled, it would still be possible to cantilever foundations over the cold bath which had been excavated in 1959. US was unable to comment at this stage.
Brian Waters had worked on the bath house in the East Wing during the 1959 excavations by Daniels who was under pressure to complete quickly .He confirmed that stratification was non existent and that the site was very wet. He thought that the wall just exposed may have been uncovered by Daniels and drawn up by Stan Revell.
John Lock asked whether everything was being done to think outside the box and promote these findings to a wider audience. US said she had been lucky to be able to call on a number of experts who were thinking outside the box.
Tony Morris asked whether the stone used in the wall had been identified and whether anyone had contacted the builders of the school (Fishers) or the surveyor (John Hardy) who is still alive. US confirmed that she was working on the stone and some other carved stones apparently from a high status Roman building that had been found. Anyone connected with the previous development should be contacted.
Brendan Haigh said he would contact the school architect whom he knows.
Daryl Baxter asked whether there was any dating evidence for the wall. He suggested C4. PD and US both thought it looked earlier.
Peter Kent asked whether it was planned to excavate the apparently undisturbed archaeology beneath the skeleton. US confirmed that this was to be done.

Visit to the Roman villa site - 16.11.2008
Thanks to Ursilla Spence, Nottinghamshire County Council Archaeologist, SCAG members were able to visit the site of the Kean Homes development on Sunday 16th November.

The former Minster School buildings have now been completely demolished and archaeologists from Pre-Construct Archaeology (Lincoln) have been able to investigate a number of different parts of the site, although the excavations are clearly made more difficult by the waterlogged conditions.
On the eastern side of the site (furthest away from the Roman buildings excavated by Charles Daniels) a trench has revealed a spread of rubble thought to be of Roman date, delineated by a possible wall. This wall was bonded with a putty-like lime-based white substance that is thought to represent a waterproof membrane. A tentative suggestion put forward by the archaeologists is that this may represent part of an ancient quay used for offloading construction materials transported to the site by boat.
On the western side of the site, close to the buildings revealed by the Daniels excavations, an extraordinary length of wall has been found (of which a section was shown in the Newark Advertiser some weeks ago). This wall, which seemingly follows a similar alignment to the “villa” buildings that lie beneath the gardens to the west, is built from carefully worked sandstone blocks. Those on which the face is visible are incised with deep diagonal lines which seem to have been intended to act as keying for plaster. This wall survives up to two courses high, although the method of construction is very varied. One section is thought to represent later blocking of a gateway, although as the wall seems to be a revetment or terracing wall, it is not yet clear how this works.
The wall has been traced for a considerable distance to the south, where a return has been found running towards the east (i.e. away from the villa complex). This could suggest that a large (?) rectangular enclosure surrounded the area now covered by the Kean site. Its northern limit is unknown, although given the position of the north wing of the villa, it is possible that the north wall of the putative enclosure lies beneath South Muskham Prebend on the far side of Church Street.
The question remains therefore as to what this wall represents. If it was part of a splendid façade for the villa, it would be highly unusual (indeed unique for a villa in Britain) and it seems more reminiscent of civic architecture. Given the waterlogged location, it is tempting to see it as a precinct surrounding a temple (as pre-Roman and Romano-British cult sites are often focused around springs or similar). Indeed Alison Wilson, in her dissertation on the Southwell villa, has previously put forward the hypothesis that the villa/Minster reflected an earlier cult site and this discovery certainly adds weight to the suggestion. It also throws open the question of the nature of the villa itself. Is it a villa or is it a hostel that would serve visitors to a cult?
Sadly, we are unlikely to find the answer to this question during the present campaign of excavation, as there are no plans to carry out large-scale open area excavations in the central part of the site, beyond those which are needed to remove medieval or post-medieval burials that have been revealed in recent weeks. Unless the current excavation strategy is changed we will frustratingly be left with more questions than answers (as is sometimes the way with archaeology) and that the Southwell villa will keep its secrets until the site is redeveloped again many years in the future. From an archaeological point of view, this would be a lost opportunity to understand a site that is of potential national importance.

Southwell Community Archaeology Group Steering Group meeting with Mrs Ursilla Spence Nottinghamshire County Council’s senior archaeological officer.
Members of the steering group of SCAG met with Mrs Spence recently. Having come straight from the site she was able to bring the group broadly up to date with this fast moving investigation.
As reported in the local press the major interest centres at the moment on the investigation of a well preserved substantial Roman wall with remnants of stucco located in an area near the boundary of the Scheduled Ancient Monument. Early thoughts are that this wall indicates the presence of a high status building such as a temple or municipal building.
In addition substantial remains of a waterproof membrane and sparse remnants of Roman origin have been located towards the Potwell Dyke. One theory is that this was part of an area for ritual washing which would support the high status of the above building as a Roman temple. If this is so it provides evidence of a continuum of worship in this area for 2 millennia.There are hopes for the site or part of it to be open for public viewing and Mrs Spence is working closely with the site owner to achieve this.
Mrs Spence said this is a complicated site and any artefacts people might hold locally that have come in the past from the site would be invaluable in telling the story.
She would also be pleased to hear of any anecdotal accounts of archaeological finds when the school and additions were built.
If you have any information please e mail us info@southwellarchaeology.org.uk

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Skeleton unearthed during dig
Newark Advertiser
By Dominic Howell
31/10/2008
A human skeleton has been found on a site earmarked for homes.
The bones of an adult male, believed to be from the medieval period, were discovered by archaeologists working on the former Minster School site at Church Street, Southwell.
The land is now owned by Kean Construction, which plans to build 37 homes on the site, a scheduled ancient monument. Before any building work is carried out, the company has paid for a full archaeological excavation of the area.
Archaeologists working on the dig are from a company called Pre-Construct Archaeology in Lincoln.
The bones were found on Friday. Police attended that afternoon and informed the Nottinghamshire coroner, Dr Nigel Chapman.
Because the site is surrounded by a fence which has electrical sensors on it, police decided that it was safe to leave the dig unattended over the weekend for further investigations on Monday.
Mrs Ursilla Spence, Nottinghamshire County Council’s senior archaeological officer, said: “The body of one individual has been found, orientated east to west with the head at the west, which is indicative of a Christian burial.
“ The body had been only part excavated, sufficient to indicate that it is not modern and that it is one individual.
“ The initial findings suggest that the body is of medieval date. This is based on a number of factors including wear on the teeth and lack of fillings, and is probably that of an adult male.
“ The body has been reported to the coroner and there are currently no plans to exhume the remains.
“ Previous excavations at the site have uncovered significant numbers of human burials; the dating and nature of these has never been fully understood. Current work may throw further light on the earlier discoveries.”
Mrs Spence said the remains would stay on site for the time being and the dig would continue until the archaeological importance of the site was evaluated.
She said Kean had been very supportive of the dig.
A member of the Southwell Archaeological Community Group, Mr Frederick Ardron (80) of Lower Kirklington Road, said: “This news is quite unsurprising. There have been hundreds of cases where bones have been found in this area.
“ It is, however, another example of the importance of this site, and careful consideration should be given before building takes place.”
The dig has already unearthed a fully-preserved 4ft Roman stone wall.
The wall, comprising of large dressed stone blocks, is considered of great importance and could be part of a more substantial building.

Stop Press - 24 October 2008 - Nottingham Evening Post
" Archaeologists have made an important discovery at the former site of the Minster School in Southwell.
A team excavating the site have found a fully preserved 4ft wall in the eastern wing of a Roman villa. Investigations are continuing, but it is thought the wall dates from the Roman period.
" This is a thing of great beauty and a rare find that will provoke national archaeological interest," said Notts County Councilor Steve Carroll, cabinet member for culture and regeneration.
Ursilla Spence, senior archaeological officer for Notts County Council, who is monitoring the archaeological work on behalf of Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: "Visitors are not allowed on to the site as it is not currently safe.
" However, we are all keen to see if we can make the site suitable for public access so that we can allow people the opportunity to see the remains at the appropriate time, possibly with an open day."
The Roman villa has been known about for several centuries, with discoveries of mosaics made in a number of different places around Vicar's Court.
Funding for the excavations has been provided by Kean Construction."