Excavations 2014

In December 2013, Pre-Construct Archaeology undertook a trial trench evaluation at Quarry House, Rudchester, near Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland. The investigation was commissioned to support a planning application for the redevelopment of the property, which lies within the buffer zone of the Hadrian’s Wall World Heritage Site and near the scheduled Roman fort of Vindobala and its associated civilian settlement (vicus).

Quarry House, a 1960s building, occupies a 3.5-hectare site that includes gardens, pasture, and a disused quarry. The evaluation aimed to assess the site’s archaeological potential, particularly in areas likely to be impacted by new construction, landscaping, and service installation.

Four trenches (1–4) were machine-excavated across the site. Trenches 1 and 4 were placed in the pasture to the south, while Trenches 2 and 3 were located in the house’s garden. All trenches encountered natural boulder clay at their base:
Trench 1 revealed a NW-SE aligned linear feature, likely a former field boundary ditch. No dating material was recovered, though its orientation aligned with earlier geophysical anomalies.
Trench 2 recorded two linear features, one likely Roman in origin due to a small fragment of building material and a Roman amphora sherd found nearby.
Trench 3 produced no archaeologically significant features.
Trench 4 revealed two features: one was a broad Roman-period ditch containing a sherd of mortaria (a Roman mixing bowl), and another smaller undated gully.

In summary, the evaluation identified late prehistoric to Roman-period features in Trenches 1, 2, and 4. Two features (in Trenches 2 and 4) likely date to the Roman era and may relate to activity within the margins of the vicus of Vindobala. These findings are considered of medium archaeological importance at the regional level.