Research Items

Abstract

Roman Remains at Ipswich. A Roman villa at Castle Hill, Ipswich and a Roman cemetery in Messrs. Bolton s brickfield, Ipswich, are described by Messrs. J. Reid Moir and Guy Maynard in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and Natural History, 21, pt. 3. Ipswich and its immediate neighbourhood are poor in Roman remains, and, so far as is known, Castle Hill is the only habitation site of the period in the district. The remains uncovered were of considerable extent. The house faced south, overlooking the Gipping-Orwell valley. The shape is difficult to visualise. It may have been of an L shape. Most of the relics found on Castle Hill belong in date to the later half of the Roman occupation, and the evidence from the cemetery points to the same conclusion. On the Castle Hill site in two places there appeared evidence of two Roman levels, which, however, may not have been separated by any great length of time. Two somewhat extensive areas of tesselated pavement were uncovered, one a passage-way and room of plain red tesser ¦ and the other a room showing a simple form of decoration in black, red and white tesser ¦. In a rubbish pit were two cooking pots of black ware, which had been used as cremation jars, a somewhat surprising occurrence for a period when cremation was not generally in vogue. The brickfield cemetery, judging by the pottery and other grave furniture, served the people of Castle Hill, as the remains are comparable in age, but the poor character of the material suggests that it was used only for those of small social importance. The graves were placed more or less in rows with the bodies orientated feet to west. They were in the extended position with the head on a pillow or surface soil, and the hands over the pelvis. In six instances (all females) the skull lay between the feet. Evidently they had been decapitated while in two, humanly fashioned flints lay on the pelvic region.