Bassingham
Why We Went There
Newark Road, Bassingham lies to the
southwest of Bassingham and is centred on grid reference 908/596.
The property is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Vickers and their son,
Matthew, is a member of the Farndon Archaeological Research
Institute (FARI).
The Vickers family was puzzled as to why they had recovered large
quantities of pottery shards from several vegetable plots in the
garden. The pottery dated from Romano-British times through into the
early, mid and late medieval periods.
An aerial photograph of the property showed very faint traces of
what appeared to be a double ditch located further east and closer
to the family's home. Matthew invited the Institute to investigate.
What We Did
Between 26th of September and 19th December 1999 an archaeological
evaluation was undertaken at the west end of the garden on the east
side of the River Witham.
Following permission granted by the Vickers, a dowsing survey was
used to identify possible archaeological features and three
evaluation trenches were excavated. The investigation was carried
out to physically test the existence of early occupation on the site
and to establish a chronological sequence for occupation.
The evaluation trenches identified part of a ditch system that had
immediately to its east a small bank topped with a double row of
postholes. Behind the postholes other less substantial post
impressions were recorded.
The bank, postholes and impressions were placed over and, in part,
cut through what appeared to be the foundation of a building
containing occasional fragments of daub.
As the pottery is still awaiting identification from specialists, a
time scale for this activity cannot be given, however similar
features have been recorded at Tamworth dating to the late 10th
century.
Conclusions
The conclusions drawn indicate early settlement, with several
changes of land usage. Completion of the pottery analysis will
enable us to establish a chronological sequence for occupation and
better interpret the settlement activity.
What Next?
The conclusions drawn from the excavation of the evaluation trenches
indicate that the site may contain further archaeological features
that require investigation. The next logical step is to excavate
further trenches this year in order to develop our understanding of
the stages of occupation and more accurately interpret the type of
settlement.
