Site description taken from CPAT PRN 13092

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

Updated by T. Driver, RCAHMW, 2017