Contd......
Mick James, several of the sceptical residents of Caslon Way were prepared to allow archaeologists into their gardens in Februrary 2008. They were as surprised to learn that the Grange Estate is part of Norton as they were that there might be an ancient site beneath their homes! Nevertheless, they were intrigued enough to allow us two days (15 and 16 February) to dig holes 1½ metres square in their lawns. On the first day, twelve of us arrived on site, including three students from Fearnhill School and their teacher, Kat Maddison. Although it was a typical overcast and cold February day, it remained dry, much to everyone's relief. We dug two trenches in the back garden of Number 10, the house where the foundations had revealed the finds in 1955 (and one of the trenches was right next to one of the features Mr Clarke had recorded, and one in the back garden of Number 3, on the other side of the road. We hoped that they would tell us how far the possible site might spread.
Test pits at Caslon Way (February '08) Keith Fitzpatrick-Matthews...NHDC Archaeology Officer In November 1955, workmen digging foundations at Caslon Way on the Grange Estate found what was evidently ancient pottery and bone. The Clerk of Works, a Mr Richardson, contacted Albert Clarke, the curator of Letchworth Museum, who visited the site. He found a collection of Roman pottery dating from the first and second centuries AD, some ox bones and an oyster shell. Duly making a note, which he put in a file at the Museum, he left the matter. There things remained for more than fifty years. Mr Clarke's typewritten note and its three carbon copies gradually yellowed and were perhaps looked at a few times over the years when information was collated for the Sites and Monuments Record maintained by the Museums Service. Then, in 2006, when I was looking for information to create an archive of data for the Norton Community Archaeology Group, I reopened the file. I remembered that my grandmother (who used to live on Orchard Way) had told me that “Roman remains” had been found on the Grange Estate when work on building it resumed in the 1950s and I wished that I had listened to her more carefully. Mr Clarke's report was frustratingly brief and I wondered why he had never followed up on the discovery. Now, with the Community Archaeology Group, an opportunity presented itself for looking again at what he had found. His report is little more than a catalogue of the discoveries by location within the foundation trenches. It was evident from his description that the finds had come from archaeological features cut into the chalk bedrock, so they were not just rubbish scattered on the fields as manure by a farmer in Roman Britain. But what were they? Were they roadside ditches, were they pits and gullies in a settlement, were they something else? These were the sorts of questions I had in mind when I suggested to the Group that its members might like to re-investigate the Caslon Way discoveries by digging test pits. Thanks to the efforts of Ken Bird, Chris Hobbs and 10 Caslon Way The excavation of the trench for which we had the highest hopes - the one closest to the original discoveries - went very quickly, as there were few discoveries in the topsoil other than builders' rubble from 1955. Beneath this was a virtually sterile clayey subsoil about the same depth as the topsoil. It produced a few small pieces of very abraded ceramic building material that may have been intrusive and, towards the base, a piece of almost dissolved poorly fired ceramic. The deposit was so disappointing that its excavation was abandoned while a small exploratory hole was dug in one corner of the trench. At the bottom of this hole (which archaeologists call a sondage) was a layer of clay that we thought must be the natural clay subsoil of this part of Letchworth Garden City. There was also a sand-filled hollow and a collection of chalk pebbles that at first appeared to be structural components but which we dismissed fairly quickly as entirely natural. The second trench in this garden seemed equally unpromising at first. Being further from the house, there was none of the builders' rubble that was found in the first trench. Instead, the loamy topsoil lay on top of a yellowish subsoil.
Home Aims & Challenges 5/6 Year Plan Archaeological Research Topics Historical Research Topics Archaeological synopsis Archaeological Projects Index Summer Digs.... Report on Summer Dig 2009 (Power Point) Summer dig 2009 Pictures Report on Summer Dig 08 (word doc) Report on Summer Dig 08 (Power Point) Report on Summer Dig 07 Other Archaeology Testpit Excavations June'07 Caslon Way Testpits Feb 08 Caslon Way test pit pictures Wheathill Testpits March 09 Allotment Testpits Autumn 09 Icknield School Testpits May 09 The Archaeology of Norton Bronze Age remains in Norton village Caslon Way Norton Church Field Earthworks Report 1976 Field Walking 2008 Fieldwalking Autumn 2007 Finds Processing 2007 Events/Talks Pictures Recent Finds Press Articles February 2008 Summer 2008 Summer 07 NCAG Trip to Harlow Museum Lectures 09/10 History History Group News Deborah Giles History of Norton Bury History of Norton An Early photograph of Norton Village St Nicholas Church Memorials Census Introduction St Nicholas Church Index of Surnames Memorials within the Church Memorials recorded by Gerish St Nicholas Church Map Graves 1-20 Graves 21-43 Graves 44-65 Graves 66-84 Graves 85-100 Graves 101-123 Graves 124-146 Graves 147-166 Graves 167-186 Graves 187-207 Graves 208-230 Graves 231-249 Graves 250-269 Graves 270-284 Photos old Norton Three Horseshoes General views Maps Church Field Church Field contd. Further maps NCAG Constitution Links Letchworth Exhibition Cottages York Community Archaeology Projects North Herts Archaeological Services National Archaeology Week NHDC Archaeological Services Hertfordshire Family History Society North Hertfordshire Archaeological Society Wherecanwego? Join Us Membership Form Blog Archaeological and Historical