At Hope Quarry we have recently been excavating the fascinating remains of the vicus at Navio Roman Fort.
The excavation has produced a large quantity of material which attests to a wide range of activites taking place in the vicus from defence and craftwork processing activities, to storage, cooking and domestic occupation. Amongst the finds include coins, carved stones, and thousands of sherds of pottery ranging from locally produced greyware to high-status terra sigillata and sherds of amphorae. Also recovered are two stone ballista balls which would have been fired from a catapult and were found from within the settlement area and, together with the substantial defensive style ditch surrounding the vicus, potentially suggests that, in addition to the fort, the vicus itself was also fortified indicating an unstable military occupation during the early phases of the fort.
Check back here regularly for updates on this amazing site. Click here to find out more about our discoveries so far.