Roman BritainEaston Grey
Roman Settlement · Civilian

Easton Grey

Roman Britain
Pleiades ID: 79757
Site type
Settlement
Category
Civilian
Latitude
51.5849
Longitude
-2.1601
Overview

History & context

Easton Grey, formerly known as 'White Walls', was a small Romano-British roadside settlement situated where the Fosse Way crosses the Sherston Branch of the Bristol Avon, in northern Wiltshire. It appears to have flourished from the later 1st through the 4th centuries AD, functioning as a minor nucleated settlement serving traffic along this major military and commercial route between Bath (Aquae Sulis) and Cirencester (Corinium).

Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →

Significance

Historical significance

The site is one of a string of small wayside settlements along the Fosse Way in the Cotswold fringe, likely providing services to travellers and acting as a local market centre for the surrounding agricultural hinterland; some scholars have suggested it may correspond to one of the unidentified place-names in the Antonine Itinerary, though this remains speculative.

Archaeology

Archaeological record

The 'White Walls' name reflects masonry and rubble long observed at the site, and antiquarian and 19th-century reports record coins, pottery, tile, and building debris scattered over a considerable area on both sides of the river. Modern systematic excavation has been limited, but fieldwalking and aerial photography have indicated structural remains and enclosures consistent with a small roadside settlement rather than a villa or fort.

About this site

Questions & answers

What is Easton Grey?

Easton Grey, formerly known as 'White Walls', was a small Romano-British roadside settlement situated where the Fosse Way crosses the Sherston Branch of the Bristol Avon, in northern Wiltshire. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a settlement site from the Roman period in Britain.

What type of Roman site is Easton Grey?

Easton Grey is classified as a Roman settlement — 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.

What other Roman sites are near Easton Grey?

Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Roman villa and earlier settlement remains in Badminton Park, 340m south of Hinnegar Lodges (8.1 km), Nettleton (11.3 km), Romano-British farmstead 200m south west of Longman's Barn Farm (11.4 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.

How can I research the history of the area around Easton Grey?

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