More information : (SP 533795) Tripontium Roman Settlement (site of). (1)
Tripontium is noted in the 6th.Itin.Anton. as a wayside station on Watling Street. The site as published by the O.S. fits the information and there are records of skeletal remains and Roman finds, (pottery, bronze objects, ornaments, furnishings, coins etc.) from the 18c to the present day.
Apart from slight early work by Rugby School no systematic investigation was made until 1962 when the Rugby Arch.Soc. commenced work. The site abounds in gravel which has been excavated for centuries and is still being removed, hence a great deal of the settlement was destroyed prior to 1962.
The eastern and northern extremities were identified prior to their destruction, the western and southern extremities may never be known because of quarrying but the full size of the settlement could be 1/2 mile in length and certainly extended to 500 ft each side of Watling Street which goes through its centre.
The period of occupation is L.lc - L.4c. with a peak in the 2c. and a recession towards the 4c. Of particular interest is some 400 ft of a large defensive ditch within the settlement, as yet little is known of this feature which seems to have been used as a defensive measure in the late 4c. and then infilled within a very few years. Most of the buildings found were of timber with clay footings, but one wing of a good building with stone foundations (suggested mansio) and attached bath house has been partially excavated.
A feature of the site is the number of wells found (7 to date) in one of which was found a milestone of Constantine the Great.
Excavation is to continue for some years. See Map diagram. (2)
Further excavations have been carried out at the site and are continuing. During road widening of the AS (Watling St - RR1f) the exact position of the 4th century defensive ditch was located. The clay bank would have reduced the area inside the enclosure to less than 3 acres. Work on the courtyard building, including the bath complex, in Area 3, (SP 53457935) proved it to be of three phases dating from the late 1st century to the 5th century. The original building was of simple corridor type with rooms 4m wide, which subsequently were extended across the original corridor. A new corridor leading to the north range was then added. 40 coins of Constantinian date and some of Valentinian date have been found. A magnetometer survey was carried out of the undisturbed areas west and south of the building. Extending to the west was a boundary ditch with palisade (Post-holes) and a gap that may indicate an entrance. To the south there appear to be extensive remains of stone buildings at various depths, subsequently proved by trial trenching. (3-5)
Name `TRIPONTIVM' accepted for 4th. edition R.B.Map.
Scheduled as `Tripontium Roman Station'. (6)
A complex of buildings, mostly timber with clay footings with associated wells, rubbish pits, pottery kilns and cemeteries. Part of the settlement is enclosed by a defensive ditch of early 4th century date. A number of buildings are arranged round a courtyard, probably a Mansio, dated to the 2nd to 3rd centuries AD, have also been excavated. Watling Street (RR1f) runs through the settlement. Notes and interim reports relating to recent excavations. (7-12)
Description and discussion of a late Roman buckle from Tripontium. (13)
Description and discussion of an inscribed tegula from Tripontium. (14)
Additional references. (15-19)
Further notes and interim reports relating to recent excavations.
(20-22) |