Romans in Purton

The Romans in Purton project started up in April 2024. It is a collaboration between Foundations Archaeology and Purton Historical Society and designed to establish the nature and extent of Roman activity in Purton. There have been several discoveries of Roman material over the years:

A 'Roman pavement' was discovered in Pavenhill in Victorian times whilst quarrying (suggesting the presence of a Roman villa)
A high status Roman cemetery was discovered in 1987 behind the old workhouse
Roman pottery kilns were uncovered in the 1960s when building houses in Dogridge

The project recruited about 30 residents of the Dogridge and Pavenhill area to have a test pit dug in their garden by professional archaeologists. In 2024 20 pits were dug and most pits contained some Roman pottery. Additionally, some uncatalogued Roman material was found in Purton Museum and it was identified as having come from the Dogridge and Pavenhill areas, but the exact find location was unknown. All the evidence together suggests the presence of a substantial Roman villa in Pavenhill opposite the George Inn. This evidence is summarised in the Powerpoint presentation below that was given to the Purton Historical Society in March 2025.

Romans in Purton

On 22nd Feb, Andy Hood of Foundations Archaeology gave a talk on the excavations at Willis Way in Purton that took place in the 1980s and in 2016. The highlight of the excavations was the discovery of a 4th century Roman burial ground. The talk attracted a lot of interest and further details of the discoveries are in the attached documents (just click to open).

The talk attracted so much attention that Andy thought that a program of test pitting in peoples back gardens would be feasible to gain a better understanding of the extent and nature of the Roman presence in Purton. 30 volunteer households were recruited and a presentation was made to the volunteers on 24th April at the Royal George in Purton. The presentation can be viewed in the document below