The site at Romansleigh, in north Devon, is identified with a possible Roman-period rural settlement or signal post, lying in upland country between the legionary fortress at Exeter (Isca Dumnoniorum) and the Roman military zone of the southwest peninsula. The place-name "Romansleigh" is misleading — it derives from a medieval manorial holder named Rumon, not from any Roman association — but a Roman presence in the vicinity has been postulated on topographic and limited artefactual grounds.
Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →
If Roman, the site would form part of the thin scatter of activity in the territory of the Dumnonii beyond the Exe valley, a region notable for its sparse Romanisation and limited villa economy. Its potential significance lies in marking the northwestern reach of Roman engagement in Devon, possibly linked to overland routes toward the Taw and Bristol Channel.
Very little has been formally excavated at or near the churchyard cross; the Pleiades entry carries no description, and the identification rests largely on incidental finds and antiquarian inference rather than systematic fieldwork. I do not know of any published assemblage securing a Roman date for this specific location.
The site at Romansleigh, in north Devon, is identified with a possible Roman-period rural settlement or signal post, lying in upland country between the legionary fortress at Exeter (Isca Dumnoniorum) and the Roman military zone of the southwest peninsula. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a site site from the Roman period in Britain.
Churchyard cross 20m south of Romansleigh church is classified as a Roman site — a civilian site in the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer. Roman Britain's archaeology encompasses thousands of sites ranging from legionary fortresses and marching camps to villas, temples and towns.
Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Lapford (13.5 km), Roman forts, marching camps and associated monuments (21.2 km), ‘Nemetotacio’ (21.7 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.
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Research the area around Churchyard cross 20m south of Romansleigh church