Site and Post-Excavation Data from an Excavation and Evaluation at Bancombe Road, Somerton, Somerset 2019-2021

This collection comprises a site report, images, database, and GIS datasets from an evaluation and excavation at land north of Bancombe Road, Somerton, Somerset. An archaeological trial trench evaluation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in October 2019 at Land to the North of Bancombe Road, Somerton, Somerset. Twenty-three trenches were machine excavated. Following the evaluation, between March and July 2020, Cotswold Archaeology carried out an archaeological excavation Land to the north of Bancombe Road, Somerton, Somerset. An area of 0.7ha was excavated within the site.

Mesolithic and Late Neolithic activity is attested by a handful of flints and pottery from later features. The earliest substantive activity was related to what appears to constitute later Iron Age dispersed settlement, including at least one roundhouse, and ditches. Some of these continued into the Late Iron Age to Early Romano-British transitional period. This was superseded by an episode of quarrying during the Roman period and the establishment of a double ditched trackway with an associated paddock. A sequence of buildings was established on the north side of this track from the 2nd century AD, lasting until the 4th century. The main phase can be associated with blacksmithing. Importantly, the industrial waste from the smithing process provides robust evidence for the use of coal in metalworking. The deposits within the building included both associated bone groups involving sheep and burials of neonatal human remains. The building collapsed or was demolished, probably in the 4th century AD. The Roman deposits were disturbed, with robbing of the walls and by ploughing in subsequent centuries. Medieval and post-medieval pottery indicates agricultural use from the medieval to modern period.