Stroom Dyke

In 1960 an amateur archaeologist, Herbert Houldsworth was excavating in a field by the small river, Stroom Dyke south of the village of Langar. He was looking for the remains of a medieval church called St Ethelberga's Chapel. And indeed he did find ruined medieval walls and graves. 

But when Herbert Houldsworth dug below the graves, he found objects that were even older: pieces of floor tiles, broken pottery, evidence of a timber building and a Roman coin. 

The floor tiles were Roman tesserae, small pieces of mosaic red, grey and white tiles used to make a patterned floor.

The pottery too was Roman. Some of it was made in Britain but some was expensive Samian pottery imported from the south of France dating from the 2nd, 3rd and 4th centuries. A Roman coin showed the head of Claudius Gothicus, who was the the Roman emperor from 268 to 270 AD.  

Herbert Houldsworth also found a mortar. This was a common kitchen implement used by the Romans for grinding spices. And there were pieces of boxflue tile, used in Roman underfloor heating systems (hypocaust). 

It may be that this building was actually a bath house. There are other earth platforms in the field which may have been the site of the Roman villa itself. 

In 1979 a group of archaeologists and volunteers carried out a survey of fields near Langar and Barnstone. In November the fields had been ploughed and no crops were growing. The archaeologists walked in a line across this same field by Stroom Dyke and they found over 100 pieces of Roman pottery lying on the surface of the soil.

Later finds by metal detectorists included Roman coins dating from 260 - 378 AD.

Langar Lane

In 2015 a local group wanted to set up a solar energy farm in fields at Langar Lane near Colston Bassett. The council insisted on an archaeological survey to see if there was important history to be discovered here. 

And so a fieldwalking survey was carried out on the ploughed fields where they found neolithic flints and Roman, Anglo-Saxon and medieval pottery. The Roman pottery dated from the 1st to the 4th centuries AD. Pieces of dense, heavy slag were also found showing that iron had been smelted either during the Roman or Anglo-Saxon period. 

A geophysical survey was then carried out. Archaeologists carried a magnetic instrument across the field which measures disturbances beneath the soil.

The results are shown on the map.  →

Yellow lines show these magnetic disturbances and are evidence of a farm from the Roman period. They show where fields, hedges and ditches were and farm buildings.

This site is a good place for a farm. The fields are on the higher ground between the River Smite and Stroom Dyke so crops can be grown here without fear of flooding. The land near the rivers grows lush grass for grazing cows and sheep.

The solar energy farm is now in place and is planned to produce enough electricity to power 1,150 homes. 

Beneath the most modern technology lies evidence of a Roman farm here 2000 years ago.

The answer is Yes and No

because it depends what you mean by 'Roman'. 

Most people living in Langar and in Britain during the Roman period were the descendants of the people who had lived here since the Iron Age and even earlier.

When the Romans arrived, wealthy Ancient Britons worked for the Roman government. Ancient British merchants, business people and rich farmers adopted the Roman way of life. They built houses like villas in the Roman style with underfloor heating, tiled floors, painted walls and bath houses. They ate Roman-style food using Roman cooking methods.

They learned to speak Latin. Some of them were made Roman citizens for having served the Roman state. So were they Roman? They were certainly people living in Roman Britain, but they did not come from Rome or Italy - they were Ancient Britons. They are best described as Romano-British.

Was the Roman Army Roman?

What about the Roman army? The soldiers who conquered Britain, who marched through Nottinghamshire, defeated the Iron Age peoples and built roads and forts? Were they Roman?

Again the answer is the answer is Yes and No.

The generals and officers who commanded the army were certainly Roman citizens, though they may not have been born in Rome. They may never have even been to Rome. 

The legionary soldiers were Roman citizens, but they had been recruited as soldiers from every part of the Roman Empire: Africa, France, Germany, Spain and the Middle East.

When a Roman legionary soldier retired after 25 years in the army, he was given land to farm and he could settle down with his family to a peaceful life in England.

How did the Roman Britain come to an end?
Click the arrow to find out . . . .