Neolithic tool found in Swindon's Roman Burial Complex
Submitted by Vicky on Thursday, 17 July 2003 Page Views: 1176
Neolithic and Bronze AgeA flint tool dating back more than 6,000 years has been discovered at Swindon's buried Roman complex. The 13-strong team of English Heritage experts uncovered the Neolithic tool during a five-week investigation at the Groundwell Ridge site. Experts believe the flint, which has been fashioned into a scraping tool, was created some time between 4,500BC and 2,500BC.Project director Pete Wilson, whose five-week investigation is due to finish tomorrow, said: "The flint looks like it has been shaped into a tool. One edge has been sharpened.
"Although it's not quite a blade, it would have been sharp enough to cut things such as meat. It was found about halfway up the slope.
"We also uncovered Roman coins and brooches dating from up to 1,800 years ago."
The recent haul also includes Roman and medieval pottery and Roman tiles, and has determined the positions of buried pits, post holes, ditches, gullies and hearths which belonged to the Roman settlement.
Mr Wilson said the investigation also established that the council's proposed site for a cycle track would not damage any archaeology. The finds will be displayed this weekend between 10am and 5pm at Groundwell Ridge, as part of the National Archaeology Days event.
People will have the chance to learn how to dig a pit, participate in pot washing and hear about Swindon's Roman history. Channel 4's Time Team carried out its own investigation at the site, alongside English Heritage, during the Big Dig weekend three weeks ago.
Some of its findings included a cobbled stone floor dating from the Iron Age, and a deep deposit of Roman soil, which corroborates the theory that there was a bustling kitchen within the Roman complex.
After the site was discovered in 1997, Swindon archaeologists Bryn Walters and Bernard Philips found it comprised complex buildings, a hypocaust a system of under-floor heating, usually part of a Roman bathhouse and a managed water supply.
Dr Walters, who will attend the weekend's event, said: "The presence of so much water indicates that the site has to be a religious sanctuary of some sort and not a Roman villa."
Anyone interested in attending the free event should book first by calling 07889 808139. They should park at the North Swindon District Centre, near Asda Wal-Mart.
Source: This is Wiltshire 17/07/2003
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