Baldock the Excavation of a Roman and Pre-Roman Settlement, 1968-72
I.M Stead and Valery Rigby

PREFACE

The excavations at Baldock, Hertfordshire, described in this report were carried out by the Inspectorate of Ancient Monuments, Department of the Environment. They were prompted by the discovery, in December 1967, of a rich La Tène III burial which was found while constructing a road on a housing estate and whose finds had been dispersed before the archaeologists were notified. The excavation of that site, which lay on an extension to a road quite incredibly and inexplicably named ‘The Tene’, was started in January 1968 and was followed immediately by a watching-brief observing foundation-trenches of houses. While that work was in progress the Inspectorate was informed of a road-widening scheme affecting a narrow strip of Walls Field (FIG. 1, V) — a scheduled Ancient Monument — so the excavators of The Tene site moved to this new threat at Easter 1968. That brief excavation gave some idea of the pattern of archaeological remains in Walls Field, and uncovered part of a cemetery which received further attention in September 1968.

In all probability the work on the road-widening scheme would not have been undertaken had it not been for a much more extensive threat to Walls Field. The entire 16-hectare field was destined for housing, so the opportunity for cutting a section through the threatened area was not to be missed. The first stage in the development of Walls Field, a telephone exchange built in the west corner, was preceded by a small area-excavation in September 1969. At the same time some attempt was made to define the full extent of Roman settlement at Baldock, for the housing threat was not limited to Walls Field but included the adjoining field, Upper Walls Common, FIG. 1. W) which was more than twice as large (34 ha). The scheduled Ancient Monument had seen limited by the boundary of Walls Field, but how far the archaeological remains extended was unknown. The ideal start would have been a geophysical survey, but at the time the Ancient Monuments Laboratory was daunted at the prospect of surveying 34 hectares. Hence the archaeologists had to resort to crude machine—trenches, using three Drott Tractorshovels, and thereby defined very roughly the area of settlement. It was apparent that at least a third of Upper Walls Common had been settled in Roman times, with the north-east end of the field blank and the density of occupation increasing towards Walls Field. Upper Walls Common was due for development before Walls Field, and lying towards the margin of the Roman site it offered the advantage of a settlement-pattern less concentrated and less complex than that in the centre. Hence a large area—excavation was carried out in 1970 at the south—west edge of Upper Walls Common, and in the following year the sample was doubled by opening an adjoining area. In 1972 the excavation moved to Walls Field for a further area—excavation, and then a halt was called when the writer was transferred to other duties. In any case, a comparatively large sample of the settlement had been examined (1.5 ha), and the only obvious task remaining — the excavation of an area of pre—Roman settlement in Walls Field opposite the end of Pinnocks Lane — would have had to be delayed because of crop rotation. Few crops are as unhelpful to archaeologists as the main fruits of Walls Field — statice ircana and helichrysum — everlasting flowers which occupy a given plot for five years or so, the field being divided into a number of plots and the flowers grown in rotation with other market-gardening produce.

The archaeological features at Baldock are very responsive to magnetic prospecting because of the high magnetic susceptibility of the soil filling ditches and pits which contrasts with the virtually non—magnetic chalk into which they were cut. The high susceptibility is probably in part due to a component derived from the prevalent clay-with-flints capping on the chalk hereabouts. The good soil-conditions and large size of the Baldock site provided part of the stimulus for the development by the Ancient Monuments Laboratory of its rapid magnetic-survey technique using a fluxgate gradiometer. The first experimental survey of this type was made as a preliminary to the 1970 excavation in Upper Walls Common, and defined features with great clarity and precision. The ideal of complete coverage of Walls Field was not achievable because of lack of staff and problems with the everlasting flowers: a plan to survey plots occupied by these was abandoned partly because of concern about damage to the plants, and it proved possible to survey an area of only 2.25 hectares, including the north-west part of the field threatened by development for a school. Only in 1979 was it finally possible to complete the survey of the major part of the settlement in Upper Walls Common before development obliterated it for ever (FIG. 2). This clearly showed the pattern of roads and enclosures and effectively defined the limits of the settlement except on the north-east side.
For permission to excavate at The Tene the Inspectorate is grateful to the Baldock Urban District Council. Hertfordshire County Council and their tenant Mr W.H. Hart readily gave permission for the excavation in Walls Field and Upper Walls Common; and the County Council generously lent a house on the edge of the development, No. 12 Royston Road, which proved an invaluable base for the excavation and subsequent work on the finds. For the three seasons 1970-72, when there was a labour-force of 100 students each week, The Knights Templar School, Baldock, was converted into a hostel. The headmaster, Mr V.H. Crellin, generously smoothed the way for this operation and the caretaker, Mr Bartlett, nobly faced the consequences; we were fortunate to secure the services of Mr R.H. Hayes as Camp Warden, and an excellent team of school cooks to provide meals. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the co-operation of Letchworth Museum, particularly through the good offices of J.E. Moss-Eccardt and G. R. Burleigh, and special thanks are due to Miss Kit Westaway who has devoted so much time to excavating and recording the archaeology and history of Baldock.
Of the excavation-team Valery Rigby was in charge of the finds during and after the excavation and shouldered much of the administrative burden; A.L. Pacitto was on hand throughout, as Assistant Director, Photographer, and in many other capacities; and I had the privilege to direct one of the finest teams of Site Supervisors ever assembled: P.C. Buckland, G.W. Craig, C.G. Dalby, Ann Dent. J.S. Dent, J.-L. Flouest, R. Goodburn, I.W. l-lampsherMonk, A.B. Havercroft, J. Hinchliffe, P.E. Judkins, N. Loughlin, R.W. Mackey, B.T. Perry, M.R. Snodin, Sheelagh Stead and A.R. Warden. Work on the preparation of the report has taken a long time — this is inevitable when such a huge quantity of material had to be thoroughly processed, but it took longer than anticipated because the writer moved from full-time fieldwork to administrative duties immediately after the final season at Baldock, and then to another post with other responsibilities a year later. That the report has been completed is due to the efforts of Jennifer Foster, who co-ordinated the work of many experts and has herself made numerous contributions. The illustrations were prepared by the Inspectorate’s illustrators’ Office, and especially by Yvonne Brown; conservation was undertaken in the Ancient Monuments Laboratory.

This report was completed and submitted to the Inspectorate of Ancient Monuments in December 1982 and to the editor of the Britannia Monograph series in July 1983. It was revised, re-edited. and then re-submitted in March 1985. Even so, the grant for publication was not authorised until January 1986.

I.M. STEAD.

Note: The word ‘bronze’ is used in this report as a general term for copper-alloy objects which have not been analysed.