Monument record MDR1964 - Possible Romano-British settlement, Monksdale Lane, Tideswell

Possible Romano-British rectangular enclosure, part remaining possibly with sub-divisions. The site has been ploughed, but gritstone quern fragments occur in the lane walls. (1). Three sherds of Romano-British pottery have been recovered. (2) L H Butcher identified a possible Romano-British enclosure at SK 140744 on a low exposed summit. It was constructed of low earth and stone banks, in places up to 5ft high (under walls), otherwise less than 1ft. Romano-British sherds in Sheffield City Museum came from the surface here, and beehive gritstone quern fragments were found in modern walls. (3, 4) The site comprises an open, roughly sub-rectangular enclosure lying on a small flat knoll on the plateau above Monksdale. The enclosing bank is a fairly massive stone and rubble construction. To the south, and set within the enclosure, is a smaller enclosure which could be a house site or small pen. At one time it may have been completely enclosed but part has been robbed out by later clearance. Romano-British pottery has been recorded from this site as well as two gritstone beehive quern fragments. (4) The ploughed-over remains of two possible Romano-British enclosures have been identified. To the west is a large sub-rectangular enclosure (of which the eastern part has been ploughed away) and to the south-east is a small rectangular enclosure. Roman quern fragments and pottery have been found near the enclosures. The bank and lynchet defining the sub-rectangular enclosure are up to 0.6m high and the bank is between 3m and 5m wide. The bank defining the small rectangular enclosure is up to 0.4m high and approx. 3m wide. The features are located in medieval strip fields, however. If the enclosures are indeed of Romano-British date, the strips here would have to have been rarely if ever cultivated for them to have survived. Alternatively, the enclosures could be of late medieval or post-medieval date. (4, 5)