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{{#display_map:53°45'46"N, 1°28'0"W; 53°45'40"N,
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}}''The approximate locations of the excavation site.''
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==== Roman-era well====▼
====Conclusion from the excavation====
Despite there being little evidence of a settlement found, the archaeologists presume there must have been a domestic occupation of the site at some point, on the basis of the evidence of human activity at the site from "at least the late 2nd to early 3rd century, with its abandonment in the late 3rd century at the earliest". Some important finds were discovered including a rare yew bucket, an ash spade that showed evidence of specialist manufacture, local leather-working that followed trends popular in Britain and on the Continent, an disk roughout in an unusual rural situation, modest evidence of food remains and clear evidence of some form of animal husbandry and butchery. Some items found also indicated that they were not casually discarded but were structured deposits with a lost but particular meaning. <ref name="Richardson" />
The most significant finding from the excavation was that of a Roman-era well. The well was 12.3-12.6m deep and approximately 2m wide. Like the well found in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalton_Parlours_Roman_villa Dalton Parlours villa] in Wetherby, it had been cut through bedrock. However, due to the lack of evidence for the contemporary ground surface level, the team were unable to determine the true height of the well as some of it may have been destroyed before the excavation. The archaeology unit emptied the well in its entirety and found that it was "damp to c. 5.5m, wet from 5.5m to just over 7m and thereafter, waterlogged." Throughout the well there were building debris, from a few structural stones to ceramic and stone tiles.<ref name="Richardson" />
====Pottery ====
The pottery found consisted mainly of pieces that would have been used to prepare and eat food. The pottery indicated that the well was in-use as early as the late 2nd century or early 3rd century, with "subsequent infilling indicates a date in the late 3rd century at the earliest, with rapid infilling in the early to mid-4th century". <ref name="Richardson" />
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There were eleven [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_sigillata samian sherds] found at the excavation site, nine of which were found within the well. One sherd was dated to AD 120-160, while the rest was dated to the second half of the 2nd century and the 3rd century. Slightly less than half of the sherd were [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_sigillata#East_Gaulish_samian_ware East Gaulish fabrics], while the rest was [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_sigillata#Central_Gaulish_samian_ware Central Gaulish vessels]. By the time the well was being filled in (late 3rd - early 4th century), samian ware was no longer being imported into Britain.<ref name="Richardson" />
==== Metalwork====
There was only a small amount of metalwork found in the well, most of which was generally fragmentary iron nails.
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It is possible that the majority of the material was dumped in a single episode as most were found between 10-12m in the well. There are sparse fragments of the material at other levels, "suggests that dumping during the later phases was of a domestic nature". <ref name="Richardson" />
====Stone roof tiles
There were nine fragments of [https://www.c82.net/mineralogy/b539 Micaceous Sandstone] roof tiles, one of which is complete and another of which is near complete. "Three different shapes of tile were provisionally identified: diamond, sub-rectangular and pentagonal, the latter examples displaying curved sides leading to a flat base."<ref name="Richardson" />
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The wooden artefacts found were somewhat different from those found at Dalton Parlours, which may indicate that the Rothwell well had "a different, perhaps less long-lived, working life to the well or that very different activities were taking place above ground".<ref name="ywt" />
====
A number of leather artefacts were found in the waterlogged section of the well, up to 8.8m. Any leather higher than this would have perished due to the non-waterlogged conditions. The leather artefacts are mainly "footwear, with some off cuts, a strip with pricked decoration, and a curious oval object". The finds are similar to that found at Dalton Parlours.
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There are too few offcuts to suggest that there was a professional leatherworker on the site, however there was some leather working carried out there. The high quality tanned hides were likely to have been purchased elsewhere. Additionally, the "use of thin leather thong rather than twine for stitching is typical for the later Roman periods". The other shoes are likely that of an adult female, with some possibly having been for the same woman with an affliction or discomfort on "the lower heel edge of her left foot". The shoes were dated to the end of the 3rd century to the early 4th century.<ref name="Richardson" />
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There was cotton textile in the well, although it was doubted by the expert who examined it that it was Roman. Cotton is very rare in the western Roman provinces. <ref name="Richardson" />
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There were a number of small mammals including mouse, rat, water vole and frog/toad. They likely fell into the well.
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A number of well preserved plant remains were found including: "some charred material from cereals (grain and chaff), heather and bracken (perhaps from litter, most likely from stable cleanings) and the merest traces of plants likely to represent domestic activities (a fragment of coriander seed in one sample)". Insects, mostly beetles, were found from the site.
The plant material was dominated by plants that either formed scrubland or developing woodland, which perhaps suggests there was clearance of the area. A single woodworm beetle was found, which is common in buildings and fences. One of the insects indicated that there were imported heath/moor resources, but there were no others found associated with this. Some of the beetles indicated that there were herbs in the pea family at the site, nettles, docks, plantain, crucifers and, unusually, violas. There was an indication of grassland, possibly grazing land, due to the dung beetles and chafers.
Compared with other sites, there were few insect species associated with rotting matter, yet three quarters of the insects suggested there was "very foul matter". There were was little evidence of synanthropic creatures "(those essentially dependent on humans), and notably no grain pests, which are present in most Roman intensive occupation deposits. This suggests that the fills of the well were not formed at a time when there were buildings, even stables, nearby."
"The rarity of ‘typical’, and lack of ‘strong’, synanthropes suggests strongly that by the time the deposits formed there were no occupied structures nearby. This might relate to a period of abandonment of the well with gradual infill, or to backfill by dumping"<ref name="Richardson" />
====Puff ball ====
[[File:Bovista nigrescens.JPG|alt=Bovista nigrescens - puff ball|thumb|150x150px|An example of the species of puff ball found - not the one found on site.]] A puff ball (Bovista nigrescens) was found on the site. In other excavations, puff balls have been found to be used for "stanching blood or for tinder". They typically occur from July to November so might give an indication of the time of year that the well was filled. While, the depth at which it was found on site was not recored, they have been know to survive depths of 7.9m, 8.4m and 9.6m. <ref name="Richardson" />
==Middle Ages==
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