Summary

The buried remains of a C1 to C4 AD Romano-British settlement. The site is not visible at ground level but survives as buried features. The settlement overlooks the Cotswold Hills.

Source: Historic England

Details

This small Romano-British complex at Hailey Wood is located on a low hill in an isolated setting, approximately three miles to the south-east of the important Roman town of Corinium (Cirencester). It survives largely as buried features, visible on aerial photographs.

The complex includes the buried remains of a roughly square enclosure, defined by a double ditch. Early records suggest that these were formerly accompanied by a series of three banks, however these are no longer visible at ground level. The enclosure measures approximately 84m square with an entrance on the south-east side. Within the enclosure a concentration of stone and building material is believed to mark the position of a building. Areas of other archaeological features around the main double ditched enclosure have been recorded, including a rectangular building to the south east and a group of features to the north including an ‘interrupted ditch’, and various other rectilinear features that may be parts of other enclosures.

Fieldwalking on the site has recovered large quantities of domestic pottery including fragments of samian ware; grey and black burnished wares; and amphorae. Building material including stone, brick, box flue tile and floor and roof tile has also been recovered. It is reported that a group of five lead curse tablets was recovered from the site in the 1990s although it has not been possible to confirm this.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

The Romano-British site known as Hailey Wood Camp is scheduled for the following principal reasons:

* Rarity: the form of the site is unusual nationally
* Survival: although reduced by cultivation, it survives reasonably well as a series of buried features and archaeological deposits
* Potential: the site retains great potential for improving our understanding of this enigmatic site's construction and use and of Roman settlement more generally
* Regional character: Hailey Wood Camp lies within an area, broadly corresponding to modern Gloucestershire, rich in Roman occupation, with a distinctive and rich character

Source: Historic England

Sources

Books and journals
Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, , Iron Age and Roman Monuments in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds, (1976)
Saville, A, Archaeological sites in the Avon and Gloucestershire Cotswolds, (1980)
Other
Thomas Hugh moore, An Archaeological Assessment of Hailey Wood Camp Roman Settlement: A Rural Temple Complex in the Cotswolds?, 1997,

Source: Historic England