Piddington late Iron Age settlement & villa phase descriptions
So far, there is no early or middle Iron Age material from the immediate area, although material from this period is attested only 1000 metres away to the south. But, by c 50 BC occupation resumed on the area beneath the later villa. Communication seems to have been mainly with the south-east (ie Colchester) rather than due south (ie Verulamium), with many close parallels of pottery and metalwork at sites such as Baldock (Herts) (Stead & Rigby, 1986) and Colchester (Camulodunumn) Essex (Hawkes & Hull, 1947), which may have been situated on the early route taken by the many early Continental imports found at Piddington.
Recently however, a possible early Roman road has been discovered running from Magiovinium (Fenny Stratford, Bletchley) towards Duston, passing to the south of the villa. Other routes must also have existed in the area, allowing communication with other Roman centres such as Irchester.
The river Nene (Nen) is only about 10 kilometres away. Durobrivae (near Peterborough) was within easy reach by waterborne transport, no doubt extensively used to bring in favourite sea food luxuries to the villa at Piddington – oysters, whelks, scallops, mussels and other shellfish have all been attested (over 25,000 oyster shells have been found). Pottery from the important potteries around Durobrivae and the Oxford region from the second to fourth centuries occurs in large quantities. Other imported luxuries, such as fine Continental pottery, glass and metalwork, came from France (Gaul) and the Rhineland (Germany).
Site Phases
| Phase 1 | 50BC |
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AD44 Late Iron Age-Conquest period |
| Phase 1a | AD44 |
- |
AD60 / 70 Military phase |
| Phase 1b | c70 |
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90 / 100 (Trajanic / Hadrianic) |
| Phase 2 | 90 / 100 |
- |
120 (Hadrianic) |
| Phase 3 | 120 |
- |
160 (Hadrianic / Antonine) |
| Phase 4 | 160 |
- |
190 (Antonine / Severan) |
| Phase 5 | 190 |
- |
280 / 290 |
| Phase 6 | 280 / 290 |
- |
420 |
| Phase 7 | 420+ |
- |
+ |
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