IRON AGE SETTLEMENT AND ROMAN ACTIVITY AT BRICKLEY LANE, DEVIZES 



215 



Fig. 1 . Site location 



ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND 



HISTORICAL 



BACKGROUND 



Although Devizes is situated within an area of great 

 archaeological interest, there is little evidence of pre- 

 medieval activity in the town. The area of Devizes 

 is fairly fertile but the lack of a natural watercourse 

 in the town (VCH x, 225) may be the cause of the 

 limited evidence of prehistoric activity (Haslam 

 1976, 19). The ploughed-out remains of three 

 probable round barrows, in the form of three ring 

 ditches, have been seen on land to the east of the 

 Brickley Lane site (SMR Nos SU06SW 612, 617 

 and 635). 



There have, however, been various indications 

 of Romano-British settlement in the vicinity, 

 ranging from a hoard of imperial coins contained 

 in a pottery vessel found in 1699 (SMR No. 

 SU06SW 315), and a find of 2 1 penates (miniature 

 images of household gods and Celtic deities), eight 

 of which survive in the British Museum (Henig 

 1984, 65-6)), to several burials and artefacts to the 

 south and east of the town (SMR Nos SU06SW 

 308-314, 316, 321, 322, 328, 329, 330). 



Although there is no mention of the town in 

 Domesday, the building of the castle by Bishop 

 Roger of Salisbury in AD 1120 (replacing another 

 thought to have burned down in 1113), signified 

 its growing importance in the medieval period. 

 Roger was one of Queen Matilda's strongest 

 supporters and played a part in the civO-war-between 

 Matilda and King Stephen that spread across 

 Wessex (Aston and Lewis 1994, 7). The town was 

 granted a Borough Charter in the mid- 12th century, 

 by Empress Matilda when at Devizes Castle in 1 141 

 (Haslam 1976, 19). The town developed throughout 

 the 1 2th century as a system of planned streets and 

 burgage plots radiating out from the line of the castle 

 bailey defence (Haslam 1976). Further medieval 

 settlement is known at Nursteed Farm, to the south- 

 east of the development area (TVAS 1999a, SMR 

 No. SU06SW 452). 



EXCAVATION 

 METHODOLOGY 



The areas of investigation were mechanically 

 stripped of topsoil and ploughsoil. Area 1 measured 

 8500m : , Area 2 1200m 2 and Area 4 800rrr. The 



