LAY WOOD, DEVIZES, WILTSHIRE

In 2016 Oxford Archaeology was commissioned by David Wilson Homes South West
to undertake a programme of archaeological investigation on land at Lay Wood near Devizes
in advance of residential housing development (planning ref. 13/01243/OUT). The main area
of excavation revealed a zone of intensive activity dating between the middle of the 1st
century AD and the end of the 2nd century AD primarily in the form of field boundaries and
enclosures, as well as trackways, a possible circular building and cremation burials.
The varied depths of the Roman features found across the site, many of which were
comparatively shallow, suggest that the site had suffered from post-Roman ploughing, and
there are clear signs of post-medieval field boundaries within the excavated area. The site
lay close to a probable Roman villa building which was partially excavated during an
evaluation of the site and was subsequently preserved in situ. The possible significance of
this structure and its relationship to the area of early Roman activity described here are
discussed at the end of this report.