| Summary : Cropmark of a probable Roman temporary camp. The line of a ditch of part of a probable camp has been observed from the air in arable just over 200 m SE of Cound Hall. It occupies an excellent position on a pronounced NW to SE spur at 55m above OD, between the Coundmoor Brook to the W, the Cround Brook to the N and, nearly 1km away, the River Severn to the E. The position chosen gives good long-distance views northwards up the Severn valley to Wroxeter and beyond, but to the SE the ground rises towards Harnage. The aerial photographs show a single rounded E corner, approximately a right angle, and about 80 m of the NE side and 210 m of the SE side of the camp. There is no certain evidence for an entrance; the apparent gap in the SE ditch coincides with a change in soil type and may not necessarily be archaeological in origin. The interior is more or less level and its N part presumably lies within the surviving parkland of the early 18th century Cound Hall. Several hollows within the park, apparently natural, may have influenced the position of the camp's perimeter. If so, a marked hollow S of the Hall may indicate a maximum length of about 180m for the NE side.There are no topographical features to suggest a probable line for the SW side. The NE ditch of the camp, which is cut by a later field boundary, may have been roughly aligned on the small valley immediately SE of the Hall. |
More information : (SJ 561050)The cropmark of three sides of a rectangular enclosure. The north-west, north-east and south-east sides are visible. The northangle appears to be in the form of a right-angle, with an east to westlinear feature just impinging upon it; the east angle is rounded. (1)
The site lies upon level, arable land, at present under pasture, within what was formerly parkland attached to Cound Hall. The cropmarks are of a straight-sided enclosure, measuring about 210.0m. north-east to south-west, by 75.0m transversely. The north corner is right-angled and the east corner is rounded. The southern end is not visible and may lie beneath a cricket ground. Nothing was seen on the ground to account for the air photograph markings (a), but the north-west side probably marks the line of a destroyed field boundary since it is a prolongation of an existing hedgerow to the south-west, and also since it extends north-eastwards beyond the north-east side of the enclosure, which itself is seen to extend further north westwards to the present field boundary. The linear through the rounded corner and down the south-east side may, therefore, indicate part of the north-east side and most of the south-east side of a Roman marching camp. An east-west linear impinging upon the north corner, extends eastwards for about 100.0m. before ending in a rounded corner, turning southwards. This may represent the north side of another marching camp set at a different angle. (2)
This camp has been re-assessed in connection with RCHME's survey and publication of Roman Camps in England. The following descriptive account is taken from the published text.
The line of a ditch of part of a probable camp has been observed from the air in arable just over 200 m SE of Cound Hall (NMR AP SJ 5605/7-10 (3a)). It occupies an excellent position on a pronounced NW to SE spur at 55m above OD, between the Coundmoor Brook to the W, the Cround Brook to the N and, nearly 1km away, the River Severn to the E. The position chosen gives good long-distance views northwards up the Severn valley to Wroxeter and beyond, but to the SE the ground rises towards Harnage.
The aerial photographs show a single rounded E corner, approximately a right angle, and about 80 m of the NE side and 210 m of the SE side of the camp. There is no certain evidence for an entrance; the apparent gap in the SE ditch coincides with a change in soil type and may not necessarily be archaeological in origin. The interior is more or less level and its N part presumably lies within the surviving parkland of the early 18th century Cound Hall. Several hollows within the park, apparently natural, may have influenced the position of the camp's perimeter. If so, a marked hollow S of the Hall may indicate a maximum length of about 180m for the NE side.There are no topographical features to suggest a probable line for the SW side. The NE ditch of the camp, which is cut by a later field boundary, may have been roughly aligned on the small valley immediately SE of the Hall. Full information is included in the NMR Archive. (3)
Published reference, (4) |