CPAT Regional Historic Environment Record
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Wrexham, Plas Coch Roman settlement

Primary Reference Number (PRN) : 13092
Trust : Clwyd Powys
Community : Rhosddu
Unitary authority : Wrexham
NGR : SJ32595161
Site Type (preferred type first) : ROMAN FARMSTEAD / ROMAN VILLA / ROMAN SETTLEMENT

Summary :
Remains of a Roman farmstead found during excavation.

Description :
Remains of a Roman farmstead found during excavations in 1994 and 1996.

Salvage excavations in 1994 revealed a number of discontinuous shallow ditches, presumably boundary markers, a corn-drying kiln, a well and a possible hearth. There was no other evidence for buildings although a quantity of roofing tile was found. Pottery dated from 1st/2nd century to 3rd/4th century.

Excavations in 1996 uncovered a 2-phased, 2-roomed, Roman stone building set in an enclosure beside a probable trackway. Several other enclosures, 2 wells, possibly 2 corn-drying ovens, an area of dense postholes and a hearth were also visible. The stone building had clearly been preceded by a post-built structure. Roman ceramics found during the excavation suggest a date range from 2nd-4th centuries AD (Wait, G A, 1996, 73).

Probable civilian settlement dependent on agriculture (Grenter, S, & Jones, S 1994, 54;

New description from 2008 CPAT report 963;
The remains of a Roman settlement, perhaps but not certainly a farmstead, were found during excavations in 1994, 1995 and 1996. Salvage excavations in 1994 revealed a number of discontinuous shallow ditches, presumably boundary features and aligned mainly NW to SE but with some others at right angles, a corn-drying kiln, a well and a possible hearth. There was no other evidence for buildings although a quantity of roofing tile was found. A shallow re-cut ditch on the northern side of the examined area formed parts of the SW and SE sides of an enclosure, its entrance excavated on the SE side. Pottery dated from the 1st or 2nd century through to the 3rd or 4th century. Palaeoenvironmental samples from pits, ditches and the corn-drying kiln indicated the presence of cereal, chaff and weed seeds.

In 1995 further excavations to the NW revealed several ditches and post-holes and the stone foundations of the corner of a building, possibly hexagonal in layout. Excavations in 1996 uncovered a 2-phased, 2-roomed, Roman stone building - presumably that first encountered in 1995 - set in an enclosure beside a probable trackway. Several other enclosures, 2 wells, possibly 2 corn-drying ovens, an area of dense postholes and a hearth were also visible. The stone building had clearly been preceded by a post-built structure, and there were three building phases in all. Roman ceramics found during the excavation suggest a date range from 2nd-4th centuries AD.

A watching brief 300m to the south (PRN 58188) identified no trace of Roman activity, and there are no other records of Roman finds or features from adjacent developments such as the Wrexham by-pass, the primary school or the tennis centre. This negative evidence favours a farmstead rather than a larger, nucleated settlement, but views differ and the 1996 excavation team preferring an administrative centre of small 'town' on the basis of the amount of pottery including amphorae and fine wares and the nearby discovery of a poorly recorded coin hoard (Silvester. R.J, 2008).

Several phases of Romano-British occupation which may be dated broadly to the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. It was clear that archaeology had been lost and it is thought likely that the area investigated was not the main focus of the settlement. Interpretations of the site include a Romano-British farmstead, a small villa or a veterans' settlement (Jones, Nigel W, 2011).

Sources :
Anon , 1998 , title unknown - Wrexham, Plas Coch Roman settlement
Burnham, B C , 1995 , Roman Britain in 1994 1. Wales , Britannia : 26 : 326-331
Burnham, B C , 1996 , Roman Britain in 1995: 1 Wales , Britannia : 27 : 390-396
Gifford and Partners , 1998 , Plas Coch, Archaeological Excavations ( © Gifford)
Grenter, S, Jones, N & Slater, B , 1994 , Plas Coch, Wrexham , Archaeology in Wales : 34 : 54 ( © Grenter, S, Jones, N & Slater, B)
Grenter, S, Jones, N & Slater, B , 1995 , Plas Coch, Wrexham , Archaeology in Wales : 35 : 53 ( © Grenter, S, Jones, N & Slater, B)
Hankinson, R., Jones, N., & Silvester, R. J , 2008 , Roman Settlements, The Scheduling Enhancement Programme ( © Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust)
Jones, Nigel J , 2011 , Roman settlement at Plas Coch, Wrexham: excavations 1994-96 , Archaeologia Cambrensis : 160 : 51-113
Wait, G A , 1996 , Plas Coch, Wrexham , Archaeology in Wales : 36 : 73-74
Wait, G A , 1997 , Plas Coch, Wrexham , Archaeology in Wales : 37 : 79-80

Events :
26955 : Wrexham, Plas Coch Roman settlement, Sainsbury's extension, watching brief 1996 (year : 1996)
26961 : Wrexham, Plas Coch Roman settlement, North Wales Regional Tennis Centre, watching brief 1996 (year : 1996)
19361 : Wrexham, Plas Coch Roman settlement, excavations 1994 (year : 1994)
13090 : Wrexham, Plas Coch Roman settlement, excavations 1996 (year : 1996)
115575 : Wrexham, Glyndwr University Plas Coch Campus, Creative Industries Building, watching brief 2010 (year : 2010)
124536 : Wrexham, Plas Coch Tennis Centre, geophysical survey 1998 (year : 1998)
124534 : Wrexham, Plas Coch Tennis Centre, Mitigation project 1998 (year : 1998)
124535 : Wrexham, Plas Coch Tennis Centre, Desktop study 1998 (year : 1998)
112375 : Roman Settlements: The Scheduling Enhancement Programme, assessment project 2008 (year : 2008)
132236 : Wrexham, Plas Coch Roman settlement, excavations 1995 (year : 1995)

Related records

Compiled date : 13-07-1998


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Archaeological data, from the Historic Environment Record, supplied by The Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust in partnership with Local Authorities, Cadw and the partners of ENDEX © CPAT, 2025 (and in part © Crown, 2025). It is intended to be used for private research only and is not for use as part of commercial projects. If you wish to use this information for publication in printed or multimedia form or to compile resources for commercial use, prior permission must be obtained in writing. Use of this information is subject to the terms and conditions of access to HER data published on CPAT's website. Please contact the HER if you have any further questions regarding this information. Please quote the Primary Reference Numbers (PRNs) in any correspondence.

March 28, 2025, 3:45 pm - File produced for Archwilio from CPAT's Regional HER.
Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust, The Offices, Coed y Dinas, Welshpool, Powys, SY21 8RP
tel (01938) 553670, email her@cpat.org.uk, website www.cpat.org.uk

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