Nassington
The site is located on higher ground above Nassington village. The area was field walked in 2013. Pottery, ceramic building material and coins suggested a significant Roman site. In 2015 the Middle Nene Archaeology Group and Derek Roberts, of Pre-Develop Archaeology became involved and a small-scale resistivity survey was carried out. A number of structural remains were identified, the most notable of which was a possible building approximately 14m x 8m. A community excavation began in August 2016 and revealed the limestone foundations of a presumed stone-built Romano-British barn. It is believed that the site represents the remains of a multi phase arable farmstead. The most recent stone structure is estimated to date from about 230 AD and the whole site goes out of use by about 400 AD. An earlier structure (probably wooden) is thought to date from about 140AD.
Features include corn dryers, bread ovens and millstones. There is some limited evidence of domestic habitation in one part of the building.
Further excavation and investigation of the site is planned so any interpretation must be preliminary
The Roman phase of the site seems to begin at the end of the 1st - early 2nd century AD. The pottery found within a soft linear feature sealed beneath the first building phase would suggest a sealing date for that feature of c. 140AD; this in the form of early rouletted, grey ware pottery from the Nene Valley Kilns.
This early building, revealed itself as rectangular limestone rubble foundations, presumably to take a timber superstructure; built off of horizontally placed sleeper beams laid directly on the rubble foundations . This building, appears, to go out of use, or is destroyed, sometime before 230 AD when, it is replaced by, an almost, exact copy.
The new building revealed itself as rectangular limestone coursed and herringbone foundations, oriented slightly different and placed c. 1m to the west of the earlier building.
The use of this building is debatable at present but, finds of painted wall plaster and a possible partitioned area to the west could suggest an isled barn type structure; with habitation at one end separated form a work are at the other. The whole site goes out of use by 400 AD when the whole structure site is levelled or suffers total collapse. Features comprising: two corn dryers/malt houses, large fragments of clay bases to bread ovens, and large fragments of both millstones and quern stones could suggest and arable base for this farmstead.
The site is at around 49m aOD, on upper estuarine series Argilaceous rocks (the Rutland formation ), with Blisworth limestone on top of the slope and Lower Lincolnshire limestone below it.
