| Summary : The remains of an Iron Age and Romano-British settlement at Tynemouth. The earliest evidence for occupation on the headland at Tynemouth was uncovered in 1963. There survived the remains of a large pre-Roman round house measuring 11.5 metres in diameter within a wall of upright posts set within a narrowly dug foundation trench. An outer concentric line of post holes which held the eave posts was situated 0.6 metres beyond the inner wall giving an overall diameter of 14 metres. It is thought that the house may belong to a much more extensive Iron Age settlement, possibly a promontory fort where the neck of land which joins the headland to the mainland would be defended by a palisade or a series of ditched defences. The 1963 excavations also uncovered the remains of a second circular house, 4.5 metres in diameter and of different form to the first. This house was not considered to be contemporary with the first, instead it was dated to the Romano-British period. There was a concentration of Romano-British pottery in this area and one of the pieces was dated to the second century AD. Scheduled. |