Update on progress of Swindon Southern Connector Road after Roman finds

Ridgeway Ward councillor and cabinet member for infrastructure and planning Gary Sumner confirmed the new major route being put in place to accomodate the addition of thousands of homes in the New Eastern Villages would continue as planned. 

Headland Archaeology, working on behalf of the council by performing a survey of the land, discovered what it believed to be an ancient Roman farm in March and has been providing updates since then. 

Read: Ancient Roman farms discovered on Swindon's Southern Connector Road build.

The main find was a rectangular structure measuring 20m long and 15 wide. It contained fragments of imported Roman and locally made Romano-British pottery, indicating that it dates from the Romano-British period. 

Several internal features in the form of ‘post-pads’ were identified in the excavation. These are called ‘post pads’ as they would have been the foundation stone for upright wooden posts which supported the roof. Several of them were found throughout the buiding at regular intervals – indicating that this was an aisled building.

Aside from the building archaeologists found other things - in the southern end of the scheme a spread of stony material was encountered which was a Romano-British trackway. 

While the track was being excavated several artefacts were found, including a bone pin which would've been used as a needle, or to pin hairstyles or clothing and the remains of what would've been a sandal through the presence of hobnails. 

The hobnails found appeared to be in the rough shape of a shoe – indicating that a shoe was lost here, but over time the organic leather has decomposed, leaving only the hobnails behind.

Another item found was a barbed and tanged arrowhead hinting at possible neolithic and bronze age activity in the vicinity.

Soil samples, artefacts and other materials taken from the sight will now be analysed to date the discovery. What has been found has been safely covered up and will be built over when the laying of the Southern Connector Road begins. 

The road is currently being built through Wanborough, with through-route The Marsh being closed for several months. It is supposed to help ease expected traffic brought in by the NEV development. 

Headland has been holding community talks to discuss their findings, one took place on May 9 in Wanborough and the next one is at South Marston Village Hall on Monday May 23 from 7pm.