Cooking, change and life in Roman Fordingbridge
- DATE WRITTEN:
- READING TIME: 3 minutes
- AUTHORS: Craig Jones (Project Officer)
Last year Cotswold Archaeology’s Andover team excavated a site on the western edge of Fordingbridge, Hampshire, just outside the New Forest National Park. The excavations were ahead of a residential development by CALA Homes.
Situated on a river terrace overlooking the Allen Brook and other nearby tributaries, the open area excavation of 0.84ha revealed over 2,000 features! These features included enclosures, ovens, trackways, and an impressive cluster of at least 15 roundhouses providing evidence for a rural settlement which was previously unknown.
Roundhouses and rural life
The roundhouses, each measuring around 13 metres in diameter, represent the earliest phase of the site’s occupation, probably dating to the Late Iron Age to Early Roman period. The majority had east or south-east facing entrances and evidence of porches. A number of intercutting examples showed that new buildings were being established after others fell into disuse, indicating some longevity to the settlement.
Around these early buildings and enclosures, there was clear evidence of domestic processing. Possible evidence for textile production comes from fired clay spindle whorls and probable loom weights. Domestic processing of cereals was certainly taking place, as represented by the numerous quern fragments and one particularly exciting discovery: a complete quern stone made of green sandstone, likely sourced from a known production centre in Sussex.
According to Ruth Shaffery, a stone specialist, this quern had a long and well-used life, probably serving first as a bottom stone, before being adapted and reused as a top stone. On the thicker side, a slot had been carved to fit a wooden handle, and both surfaces show wear from grinding. Only when it was finally too worn to function was it carefully placed upside down at the base of a pit. Complete querns are incredibly rare, with only around 1% found in this condition.
Domestic to industrial
A later phase of activity, probably dating to the Middle to Late Roman period, suggests a possible shift in the site’s use. New enclosure ditches and trackways show a reorganisation of the settlement, perhaps reflecting a transition from domestic life to more industrial production. Finds from this period could support this idea: a crucible hints at nearby metalworking, while large amounts of fired clay, misfired pottery, and burnt flint could suggest ceramics were being manufactured nearby.
In one pit, sherds of misfired pottery (referred to by archaeologists as ‘wasters’) had been repurposed to line the base showing the use of industrial by-products. In another, a dump of fired clay was probably deposited while it was still hot, resulting in the clay slumping into a dome shaped pile. Ongoing analysis will determine if the pottery retrieved from these investigations are similar to examples from known contemporary kilns in the New Forest or if this is evidence of a new production site close by.
With artefact processing and analysis now underway, the Fordingbridge excavations are already providing valuable insights into how this rural settlement grew, adapted, and contributed to the local and regional economy.
