| Summary : Remains of a Romano British settlement located on the gritstone margins of the Peak District and visible remains include a series of terraces revetted by large orthostats. The site occupies sloping unimproved ground overlooking the Hood Brook. In addition, there are small irregular enclosures bounded by wide stone walls and also platforms indicating probable buildings. The present ruinous boundary wall to semi-improved fields to the south of the settlement is constructed from large orthostats and clearance material, indicating that the wall is also of Romano-British origin. The settlement contains a series of rectangular terraces facing downslope to the west and orientated north-south. Each of the terraces is revetted at the long downslope side by a row of substantial orthostats. A trackway passes through the south of the site. In addition to the rectangular terraces there are irregular enclosures, most of which appear to form small yard areas which are likely to have been associated with the domestic buildings of the settlement. The entire complex measures 200 metres by 150 metres. A minor 20th century excavation revealed the probable site of a domestic building with Roman period pottery, a gritstone quern and pieces of chert, slag and burnt material. Traces of coursed stonework, revealed by the excavation, are still visible and the excavation also exposed the careful setting of the row of orthostats in the revetment wall. The small, irregular enclosures are bounded by either orthostat walls or by wide walls of double orthostats infilled with smaller stones which may well have been from the original clearance of the land. The now ruinous boundary wall to the south of the settlement complex is irregular and consists of a bank of cleared stones containing large orthostats, some forming a revetment to the embankment, others arranged as a double alignment. The site is interpreted as a farmstead. Scheduled. |