Page:VCH Norfolk 1.djvu/345

 ROMANO-BRITISH NORFOLK dwelling-houses of a stoneless land like Norfolk may often have been slight and unsubstantial, and their remains would be easily destroyed or easily overlooked in aftertime. The plough, well used in Norfolk, has doubtless obliterated much, and more may still await the gentler mission of the spade. But for this we need hardly make greater allowance than in many other counties, and while we admit that our knowledge is imperfect, we must also admit that the development of Romano-British life in this corner of Britain was itself imperfect. I. In the parish of Ashill, at a spot called Robin Hood's Garden, two miles west of the Peddar's Way and now intersected by the Watton and SwafFham railway (fig. 12). Here is, or was, a square enclosure of 10 acres surrounded by a ditch 7 feet deep and 14 feet broad, and, inside, another somewhat small enclosure, surrounded by a somewhat smaller ditch. Between the two ditches, at the point a in the annexed plan, were once foundations of buildings, removed (it is said) when the land was long ago brought under culti- vation. Nothing is recorded about either the ditches or the foundations which would prove their date, but a striking discovery made in 1874 seems to justify us in assigning them to the Roman period. We may con- clude provisionally that the found- ations at A represent the ' villa ' ; the two ditches formed special enclosures round it, such as are by no means uncommon round Roman ' villas.' The discovery of 1874 is how- ever noteworthy for another reason than because it helps us to this con- clusion ; it is indeed a very curious and puzzling discovery. During the construction of the railway the workmen found a wooden struction which on investigation proved to be a well or shaft, put together like an 'Oxford' frame, and measuring 3I feet square and 40 feet deep (fig. 13). The woodwork commenced at 6 feet below the present surface, and traces of paths leading to it were noticed. The contents of the shaft were very remarkable. For its upper 19 feet they consisted of Samian and other potsherds, painted wall plaster, bones of animals including a frog or toad, the staves of a wooden bucket, bits of a wickerwork basket, an iron knife, four shoes, and so forth, all lying promiscuously in the earth — in short, just what one would expect in a rubbish-pit. But below this, we are told, the deposits changed : they now (19—34 feet vertical measure) consisted of fairly perfect urns (fig. 13), 295 FlCT Toil 100 200 ico ^ao ftiT Fig. 12. Plan of Enclosures near Ashill. con-