Former Babe Ruth's Restaurant, 172-176 The Highway
TQ 34836 80702; (Alistair Douglas); evaluation and excavation July 2002 and September 2002 - February 2003; HGA02
The site lies immediately to the west of the Roman tower and burials excavated in 1974 and 1976 and immediately to the east of the Tobacco Dock excavations undertaken in 2002 by PCA Ltd. Natural sandy gravels were observed at between 6.65m OD and 5.50m OD.
A single Roman ditch found towards the north of the site links up with one excavated south of the tower. The northern part of the Babe Ruth site had been severely truncated by basements. This truncation was identified with the northern part of the Tobacco Dock site.
A series of terraces cut into the southerly sloping natural gravels to the south of the Babe Ruth site preserved the remains of a group of Roman buildings. At a depth of circa 5m below present ground level, a substantial stone, brick and tile building with at least two phases of construction has been found at the southern limits of the excavation. Measuring circa 19m N-S by 16m E-W, only the northern limits of the building have been established as rooms continue beyond the western, eastern and southern limits of excavation. The earlier phase of building has substantial stone and brick walls forming a grid of rooms, with at least eight rooms identifiable. These walls were then partly demolished and a new phase of building with hypocaust constructed over it. This second phase of building has at least nine rooms visible, including an apse on the northern side, most with surviving pilae stacks and is believed to have been a bath house. The two phases of occupation took place between the 2nd to 4th centuries AD with the system stripped of all flooring and demolition shortly after AD 400. This building, together with associated deposits will be preserved in situ beneath the new development.
To the north lay an area of packed gravel and stone surfaces, probably representing a yard. Immediately to the west of the yard, and on a perpendicular alignment to the bath house was a sequence of eight phases of clay and timber buildings. The continuous raising of the floor levels in these buildings produced an excellent stratigraphic sequence of artefacts including pottery, coins and hair pins.
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