More information : [Area TF 146 250] Ditched enclosures of Romano-British sites along a watercourse, seen as crop marks on air photographs at Lane Dike, Hacconby and Morton, visited in February 1951. At 'A' TF 1464 2494, was a general sparse sherd scatter over a well-ploughed silty area. A deep furrow at 'B' TF 1462 2509, had turned up a concentration of sherds on the levee linking with another site to the north. See TF 12 NW 11. At 'C' TF 1457 2500 domestic and industrial debris, including the burnt daub wall foundations of a hut, came from a 10 ft. band of sandy silt along the north and east sides of a rectangle 70 ft. E-W by 40 ft. N-S. A burnt zone of very dark soil, rich in powdered and lumped baked clay and evaporating vessel fragments, ran 3 ft. wide along one third of the north arm and 10 ft. wide down the east arm of the "L" of silt, a wide area of dark soil with occupation debris stretched another 20 ft. eastward. The pottery was 2nd and possibly 3rd century that from sites A and C including early 2nd century samian. (1-3) Only a very few coarse potsherds were found during perambulation of this area. There is now no visible evidence of occupation. (4) TF 146 249 HACCONBY-MORTON, Lane Dike: Compact settlement with industrial site: tight group of mainly rectilinear enclosures along W flank of watercourse running seaward from 1425 [RAF/1489/3059, S field, poor; RAF/1431/5046, N field, poor]. Feb., 1951: S field ploughed smooth, N field recently deep-ploughed, ditch lines clearer; wide raised silty N-S band through both fields, level dropping to low clays at 4 to 5 ft OD to E and W. Sparse sherd scatter, 500 by 300 ft, over the raised area a in S field. In N field a deep drainage furrow had turned up the concentration of sherds at b, while area c gave some indications of structure. A patch of dark soil with pottery and shell scatter, 30 by 20 ft, lay immediately E of a band of pulverized baked clay and ash, bordering the E (40 ft) and N (70 ft) of a 10-ft-wide L-shaped zone of clean light buff silt. The baked clay band contained vessel fragments, supports and large pieces of clay baked hard on one flat surface suggesting a trench lining exposed to heat (LAASR 8, 43f, 62). Mainly late 2ndC (including Antonine decorated samian, GS 1952), a and c probably beginning earlier and b and c possibly continuing into 3rdC (BRH 1958). Much calcite-gritted ware (50%), no colour-coated. Lincoln Mus. A3., 1-3 (=a-c). (5) This site is located on typical arable fenland. Under crop when visited, further investigation not possible. (6) TF 145249 Haconby; air photograph, finds of pottery & daub. (Listed in a card index compiled by the author and now housed in Lincoln Museum as TF 12NW C). (7)
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