Monument MPM122 - 1st Century pit north of Portsdown Hill Road

Several features comprising a pit, three shallow depressions and a small gulley revealed during excavations for a gas main on Portsdown Hill in 1965. The pit contained several finds including Iron Age/Roman? pottery, animal bone, flint and glass.

Several features comprising a pit, three shallow depressions and a small gulley, were revealed in a trench excavated for a gas main on Portsdown Hill in 1965.

The pit was observed in the north side of the trench. This feature had been filled shortly after it was originally excavated. The fill contained a large number of flints and chalk debris, the majority of flints being broken with a milky white to blue patina. Occasional burnt flints and struck flakes were also present. Mixed with and laying on top of the flints were Iron Age pottery sherds, probably dating to the 1st Century AD. The following finds were also recovered: a horse molar; 3 fragments of animal bone, one with saw cuts; one pyrites nodule; a small fragment of Whealden sandstone; a flint hammerstone; 33 round pebbles, possibly sling stones.

Three shallow depressions and a small gulley were revealed within 274m of the pit, but these features did not contain any finds. 17 round pebbles, and one Romano-British and one Iron Age sherd were recovered from the spoil heap. A bronze coin of Claudius was found by a workman.

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A pit containing Romano-British sherds, briquetage? Animal bone and fragments of Roman glass. Also four ditches were sectioned by the excavations for a gas main but no dating evidence was found.
Found in 1965 and reported by Gas Board who retained the finds.
Reference: J.A.C. Bulletin No. 2 1965-66 B.Hooper

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The finds appear to be held in the collections of Portsmouth Museum under the accession no. 1969/242. The entry on the museum collections database states that the material comprises late-Iron Age pottery, sling stones, snail shells, animal bone, pottery from other periods including post-medieval, worked and unworked flint and glass. [3]

<1> Bradley, Richard, 1967, Excavations on Portsdown Hill 1963-5, Proceedings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society Vol XXIV, p.42-58 (Bibliographic reference). SPM347.

<2> Portsmouth City Council, n/a, Portsmouth City SMR Cards, SU60NE15 (Index). SPM1.

<3> Portsmouth Museum Service, N/A, Portsmouth Museum Service Collections Database (Index). SPM424.