Monument record SAS 017 - Roman Road, Great Hallows

Roman road - a short length of the Pye Road lying east of the present A140 which curves to the west here.

2004-2007: Geophysics resistivity survey was undertaken in 2004 at the garden of Great Hallows (formerly the Rectory), and parts of fields to the N and S, indicating the line of the probable Roman road, which runs to the east of the current A140. A second series of surveys were carried out in advance of excavation. A magnetometry survey was also carried out (c. 2007) in the garden of Great Hallows (S2). Neither survey produced clear results and the interpretations of each place the road line slightly east of the excavated feature.

Excavation: A linear trench placed east to west in the gardens of All Hallows encountered a first century ditch (with a later recut) and areas of packed gravel surface interpreted as remnants of the road surface. The main area of gravel surface was 12m wide (with a central area removed by cultivation), and a separate band of gravel lay on the west side adjacent to the ditch. To the east an area of some 10m contained only unsorted gravel areas on clay but a further surface was found at the base of a broad ditch - or perhaps hollow way? - giving an overall width of some 35m for the road and related features. A quantity of Roman pottery was also recovered, dominated by local wares but also including Samian and decorated 'London type' wares (perhaps from West Stow). The ditch contained a piece of South Gaulish samian (form 15/17) in the primary fill but there was also some later second and a little late third century material in the subsoil and eastern linear feature (S1).

Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2007 (S3).