Monument record BUG 002 - Settlement Site around St Botolph's Church (IA)

Large quadrilaterial, double ditched enclosure, covering 7 ha bisected by Drabs Lane & partially occupied by Burgh church. Occupation into Rom period (see Rom). Sketch of Belgic pottery urn, found at Burgh by Treherne, seen By Basil Brown at IPSMG, May 1952 (S1).
Half the site is already scheduled as `Belgic Site' because of the finds of Belgic pottery. Recent aerial photographs show a double or triple-ditched enclosure forming 3 sides of a square round the church, strongly suggesting either an IA or Sax earthwork. Additional areas are to the W and SE of the church (S3).
1975: Evidence of occupation from the late IA through to the end of the Rom period. Large pit (3.2m deep and 6.35m wide) excavated. Contained a large amount of hand- made IA pottery and wheel-made Belgic pottery. The pit also had ritualistic overtones in that a human skull was found towards the base of the pit. In the NW corner of the main earthwork a smaller enclosure, circa 1 ha in area, was partially excavated 1947-1957. This appears to date from circa AD 30-43 and was partially backfilled circa AD 60- 70 (S2). The site may have functioned as a minor oppidum of the Trinovantes, though a more religious use is posssible.
1976: Rectangular enclosure. Large Belgic enclosure. Slight traces of the earthwork are visible at ground level. Amateur excavations in the 1950s appear to have located a smaller Belgic enclosure within the larger one. The site was later used for a Roman villa and for St Botolph's Church, and apparently one corner of the earthwork was crowned by a small motte. Excavations in 1975 located an isolated segment of the enclosure ditch 7.5m long x 6.3m wide x 3.5m deep, containing Belgic pottery (S10)
1981: Castle fields and additional area to SE under crop. Additional area to W under rough grass. Tile and pottery scatter noted in Castle Field and few sherds of possible Belgic pottery in field to SE (S3). Note (R1) to (R3) also checked.
See also Rom, BA & Sax.