York Road Preserved Romano-British settlement

Land south of York Road Park & Ride, Scawthorpe

Other site, structure or landscape

Assets that cannot fit any of the other categories. This category includes sites of archaeological interest, where the original form and function may not be apparent without the use of archaeological techniques and interpretation.

Asset type

Archaeological site

Age

Romano-British, 2nd to 4th century AD

Rarity

Whilst dispersed enclosed rural settlement sites are the most common type of Roman settlement within the eastern half of South Yorkshire, sites with the quality of survival, and density and variety of activity present at the York Road site are very rare. The majority of suspected Roman period settlement sites in the county have been recognised principally from aerial photography of crop marks. Excavation to confirm date and complexity is rare nationally (estimated to be less than 1% of the likely total) and all sites which have been positively identified and which have significant surviving remains are considered important.

Group Value

The site falls within the wider hinterland of the Roman fort of Doncaster, to which it is linked by the route of a Roman Road (the A638, formerly the A1 trunk road), and its formation in the 2nd century parallels the expansion of the settlement south of Doncaster. Cropmark evidence within adjacent fields for further trackways and enclosures also illustrates the potential for more extensive settlement evidence to survive within the vicinity of the York Road site. This combined evidence has group value in preserving a sense of the form of settlement in the area during the Roman period.

Historic Interest

The remains of Romano-British settlement at York Road are of potential illustrative value in possessing the capacity to become a link between present communities and their past. The form of settlement at York Road had a long tradition in England and its origins can be traced back to the Middle Bronze Age. They were a particularly common aspect of the rural landscape and represent foci for small scale agricultural and craft production for social groups based in dispersed individual farming communities. They are a defining characteristic of rural settlement in most areas throughout the second half of the first millennium BC and Roman periods. The longevity of individual sites varies enormously from a single generation to 400 years or more.

Archaeological Interest

Archaeological fieldwork at York Road revealed a Romano-British rural settlement and associated trackway lying parallel with the known Roman road to the west. Evidence of occupation was accompanied by industrial activity, including evidence of iron working, within and immediately adjacent to two enclosures linked to the trackway. Ironwork recovered during this work hinted at the presence of Roman-period timber buildings, whilst indications of cereal processing and identification of possible loom weights suggested a domestic component to the site. Pottery evidence and other finds suggested that the site dates to between the 2nd and 4th centuries AD. A section of the track and its adjacent boundaries were recorded in advance of the construction of the park and ride car park, whilst the remains of the settlement were preserved in situ. The monument offers scope for the study of the form and pattern and the social and economic operations of a Roman rural settlement in the north east of England.

14 Aug 2023

26 Sep 2022