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The Roman Landscape at Nosterfield
Due to the impressive nature of the prehistoric monuments at Thornborough, evidence from other periods has tended to be overshadowed. However, antiquarian and archaeological work over past decades, together with recent excavations at Nosterfield, have produced significant evidence relating to the Roman landscape. Chance finds and excavated Roman structures indicate that the area would have been occupied and exploited during the first to fourth centuries AD by the Roman Army, based at the nearby forts of Catterick, Aldborough or Healam Bridge, and by a rural population, who appear to have occupied high-status buildings, adopting a Romanised lifestyle. Archaeological evidence suggests that features and monuments of the prehistoric landscape would have been visible during the Roman period, but that ditches and other features were disused at this time, indicating that they no longer held such significance for the surrounding population. Some may have been deliberately backfilled as part of a reorganisation of the landscape.
Roman finds at Nosterfield
Though no direct occupation evidence has been recovered at Nosterfield, archaeological investigation identified a drying oven, dating to the first to second centuries AD, and the pottery retrieved from the site suggests that there would have been a Romanised settlement very close by (see Roman & later pottery assessment).
The excavated kiln was found to comprise a stokehole, leading into a stone-lined chamber, which showed signs of fire-scorching, and a much larger main chamber. Despite intensive sampling, no charred material was found, though it is possible that the kiln was used for drying corn. Archaeomagnetic dating of the feature was carried out by GeoQuest Associates (link to report), and revealed that the last firing of the kiln took place between 100 AD and 170 AD.
Kiln or corn dryer
Over 140 sherds of Romano-British pottery were recovered during excavations, and have been analysed by pottery specialists. These sherds represent vessels used for the storage and preparation of food (amphora, jars, mortaria) and for serving food (flagons, dishes and beakers). The storage and cooking vessels have generally been obtained from potteries in the local area. Some of the vessels, including sherds of mortaria, are known to have been produced in York, though the majority seem to have come from a more local source. In comparison, most of the vessels used for serving and dining appear to have been imported from further afield. In addition to fragments of Black-Burnished ware from Dorset, Essex and Kent, finds included Samian from Gaul, and amphora from southwest Spain, thought to have been used for the importation of olive oil. These finds demonstrate that inhabitants of the local settlement prepared, stored and served food in a Roman manner, representing either a highly Romanised native population, or the dwelling places of members of the Roman administration (Precious and Vince 2003). The pottery has been dated to the early 2nd to 3rd century AD.
The ceramic material found at Nosterfield has not been heavily abraded, which suggests that it is not likely to have reached the site through manuring or ploughing activity. This indicates that the settlement that produced the pottery was located at or very close to this site. Several other artefacts also support the idea that there would have been a Roman settlement close by, such as fragments of Roman building material, including tegulae and imbrices, and a silver coin.
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| Roman coin | Greyware sherds | Mortaria sherds |
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| Samian sherds | Fragments of brick & roof tile |
The Roman landscape
There are other sites in the surrounding area which represent high-status settlement, which may be the estates of wealthy local individuals emulating Roman lifestyles, or members of the Roman administration, possibly associated with a military presence. A review of recent finds and known monuments enables us to consider further the nature of the Roman landscape during the first to fourth centuries AD.
A dominant feature of the Roman landscape in this area would have been Dere Street, the main route between the north and the south of the country, surviving in the modern landscape in the route of the A1. Several forts in the area are known to have been situated on Dere Street, at the sites of Catterick and Aldborough, and more recently, another fort was identified at Healam Bridge, less than 5km to the northeast of Nosterfield, dated by pottery to the 3rd and 4th century AD (BUFAU; Jones 1994).
High status domestic settlements are also known from the region, and the landscape is thought to have been dotted with estate centres or villas, from which the élite would have controlled agricultural resources. At Castle Dikes, some distance to the south of Nosterfield, a large rectangular earthwork surrounds the site of a possible villa. Finds from the area revealed a bipartite building, with evidence for painted plaster and mosaic floors. At Well, a suggested villa complex was excavated between the 1930s and 1950s (Gilyard Beer 1951), less than a kilometre to the northwest of Nosterfield. A bathhouse was uncovered, with part of a tessellated pavement which has been dated to 160-190 AD. The pottery at Nosterfield indicates a settlement in its immediate vicinity, but it is possible that the occupation represented by the ceramic was in some way associated with a major centre at Well. The décor and ceramic evidence from these sites indicate inhabitants with considerable economic resources.
Prehistoric monuments during the Roman period
Roman roads, high status residences and military fortifications were not imposed upon an empty landscape. Evidence from other areas of Britain suggest that, during the Roman period, field systems and agricultural exploitation underwent reorganisation, in order to increase production for a larger population. Iron Age and earlier field systems would be backfilled to make way for the new field systems.
Much of the Roman pottery from Nosterfield has been retrieved from the upper fills of earlier features, including pit alignments and ditches. Although not conclusive proof of large scale reorganisation, this suggests that the landscape underwent significant change at this time, involving the disuse of prehistoric boundaries and monuments. During excavations of the southern Thornborough henge, a Roman brooch was found amongst the fills of the inner ditch. The henge had partly silted up by the time this brooch was deposited, and may have been further backfilled during the later Roman period (Harding 1998, 32). It seems, therefore, that whilst prehistoric features would have been visible and identifiable within Roman landscape, these were no longer of such significance or relevance to local populations, and were either deliberately backfilled or allowed to gradually silt up.