IRON AGE SETTLEMENT AND ROMAN ACTIVITY AT BRICKLEY LANE, DEVIZES 



237 



east of the site was significant. Thus it is possible 

 that the occupation revealed may represent the limit 

 of western encroachment, along an existing 

 trackway, of an upland settlement to the east. 



Roman activity 



No evidence was found to suggest a continuation of 

 the occupation into the Roman period, although the 

 trackway itself, and the small assemblage of Roman 

 finds, clearly point to the continuing use of the area 

 as a thoroughfare, perhaps for both civil and military 

 use, although the lack of metalling suggests that it 

 was never more than a modest local route. However, 

 it is worth noting that a comparable ditched trackway 

 of similar date ran east-west across the excavation 

 area at Wayside Farm (Valentin and Robinson 2002). 

 If the line of both trackways were extrapolated 

 westwards they would appear likely to meet at a point 

 within the area shown by the number of SMR entries 

 to indicate fairly concentrated Roman activity, 

 including settlement and burials. The evidence from 

 both sites that the origins of the respective trackways 

 may lie in the late Iron Age invites the suggestion 

 that such an occupation focus may also have an Iron 

 Age predecessor. 



Saxon activity 



Only two pits were dated to the Saxon period. The 

 larger of the two features (pit 134) contained a 

 moderately-sized collection of Saxon pottery, along 

 with residual Roman pottery, a late Roman coin 

 and a catapult bolt head of early Romano-British 

 date. While this material presumably represents re- 

 deposited detritus lying in the vicinity of the 

 apparently disused trackway, and could have found 

 its way into the pit circumstantially, the possibility 

 remains that it could have been deliberately curated. 

 The second pit which cuts the northern ditch of 

 the trackway was found to contain a sizeable sample 

 of animal bone including a cattle skull (which was 

 badly fragmented) and several cattle horn cores. 



Although both these features are isolated, they 

 do hint at Anglo-Saxon occupation, possibly to the 

 north or north-east, on the shoulder of Jump Hill. 



Area 2 



Medieval activity 



The features found within Area 2 consisted 

 principally of three gullies (Figure 4), which are 



interpreted as elements of a 1 0th- 1 1 th century field 

 system. These gullies are overlain by a possible 

 buried ploughsoil that is dated to the same period. 

 The environmental evidence from the ploughsoil 

 indicated the presence of large amounts of 

 carbonised material, which included free threshing 

 grains and fragments of rye. The charcoal residues 

 present in the sample were mosdy of alder and hazel. 

 These layers may represent redeposited cereal 

 processing debris (manuring?) or could be the result 

 of stubble burning. Whether this activity relates to 

 the known medieval settlement at Nursteed Farm 

 some 300m to the east of the area of investigation 

 (TVAS, 1999b), or to a closer farmstead, cannot 

 be ascertained. 



Area 4 



Early Roman 



Area 4 was found to contain linear features, 

 interpreted as being part of a Romano-British field 

 system (Figure 4). The excavation appears to have 

 located the intersection of two frequently re-cut 

 boundaries, apparently defining the corners of up 

 to four fields. The nearby concurrent excavations 

 at Wayside Farm by AC archaeology also found 

 ditches, along with evidence of occupation and 

 indications of a ritual focus (Valentin and Robinson 

 2002 [this volume]). While the Area 4 field 

 boundaries could relate to the Wayside Farm focus, 

 the lack of a common alignment among the linears 

 should be noted. The ritual focus at Wayside Farm, 

 and the lack of Roman settlement at Brickley Lane 

 supports the possibility of a contemporary 

 occupation to the west. 



ARCHIVE 



The archive has been deposited at Devizes Museum 

 and a microfilm copy of the archive has been 

 deposited with the National Monuments Record. 



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 



The authors would like to thank Bloor Services 

 Ltd., Persimmon Homes Wessex Ltd., and Swan 

 Hill Homes who funded the excavation and 

 publication. Thanks are also offered to Duncan Coe, 

 Assistant County Archaeological Officer. The 

 authors would like to express their appreciation for 

 the sterling efforts of the site team, who persevered 

 through often foul weather conditions. 



