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Progress Report: November 3, 1999
Team Members:
William
B. Barr, MA (Project Director)
Cecile
Hollyfield, BFA (Director of the Celtic Legacy Foundation)
Scott
G. Sutton, MA (Archaeological Consultant)
Ben
B. Hollyfield (Field Technician)
Amanda
K. Saum, BA (Field Technician)
Written by Scott G. Sutton
November 3, 1999
The day proved to be unseasonably warm and clear, with temperatures exceeding those
recorded for the past forty years. In the morning, Cecile Hollyfield
guided the team on an orientation tour of the site. The crew observed a neolithic
tomb, the remains of a possible Roman
Period garrison tower, a segment of a Roman road, a fieldstone lined wellspring, and a foundation
defined as an early Christian chapel and walls. The home of the current property
owner stands on the northeastern corner of the site.
After the tour, team members investigated and photographed the site's structures,
features, and terrain. Reviewing visible evidence for the site's formative background, the
crew openly exchanged various interpretations, some speculative and others apparent.
Some of these observations may expand upon the conclusions of the 1996 report.
Following the tour, Sutton and Ben Hollyfield began photographing the observed features
and artifacts. At the foot of a fieldstone wall running north/south between the garrison
and the well, removal of loose stones revealed the presence of what appears to be a stone aqueduct. This feature appears
to parallel the wall, and may have been used to provide the tower’s occupants
with water from the well. Sutton later observed a similar conduit
protruding from the eastern slope below the garrison, which may have served as a
contemporary effluent drain. Time and authorization permitting, the field crew hopes to
further define the aqueduct provenance.
Of implication for regional settlement studies, the extent of the Roman road was not
noted in the 1996 report. Running uphill to the northwest from the wellspring, the road
appears to be in alignment with an existing paved road (named
"Old Road") opposite the property. Much less distinct, but no less significant,
surface evidence hints that the road may have forked at the well, with one branch possibly
circling the garrison before heading southwest, and another heading to the southeast.
While in the field, the team intends to research historical sources for information
related to local patterns in Roman settlement.
In the afternoon, attention was turned to the garrison. Barr’s inspection revealed
that the garrison may actually have been rectangular in shape (6 m x 10 m), rather than
square, as stated in the 1996 report. The walls and foundation clearly show that the
existing structure underwent multiple adaptations and renovations by subsequent occupants.
The lowest portion of the westernmost wall contains stonework that may prove contemporary
with that of the previously diagnosed Roman Period component. This
craftsmanship is characterized by slender, flat fieldstone blocks and a red, clay
mortar, much of which is eroded. It was also observed that the tower is constructed along
cardinal directions, with the long walls running east/west.
Saum noted evidence that may indicate an adjoining structure to the east of the
garrison. Rectangular niches on the eastern wall form a pattern
indicating that they may once have supported the roofing beams of a stable or pen. This
suspicion is further sustained by the elevation
of the adjoining area, which is roughly level with that of
the garrison, and raised above the bog land below.
Along the west end of the garrison's northern wall, Barr explored a deposit of 18th
century ceramics previously discovered by the current property owner. Eroding from a
bricked-in doorway, the deposit extended beneath the wall which was
a post-Roman addition. This fact indicates that the addition’s construction
post-dates the deposition of these sherds. Therefore, this portion of the post-Roman
masonry was likely erected in the late 18th or early 19th century.
In the interior, the team observed a possible series of
corresponding floor joist holes in the east and west walls. The multi-level hypothesis is further substantiated by
the elevation of the hearth (noted in the 1996 report), the base
of which lies just above the joist holes. The floor, currently covered in debris, will be
cleared tomorrow in an effort to reveal the stone floor mentioned in the 1996 report.
Note: These investigations are ongoing, and updates will
be posted as time permits. Assessments made during the course of this survey are
preliminary, and may change upon the recovery of further data.
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