'Have you found anything interesting?'

Archaeologists get used to being asked this question, but are sometimes at a loss as to how they should answer it. The person asking is usually only thinking of portable items ­ 'treasure', perhaps ­ but to the archaeologists these things tend to be incidental, for it is the story revealed by the ground itself and the structures thereon that hold the fascination.

Nevertheless, such finds have their part to play. Church Chare produced the usual range of pottery to be expected on a Roman site ­ coarse wares used for cooking, fine table wares used for serving food, containers for storage and transport of commodities ­ and even a few coins, most in poor condition and only legible by experts.

Objects perhaps of greater interest were an example of a cheese press, little different from modern examples; two pieces of gutter stone, probably originally from the eavesdrip of the barrack building (Roman buildings did not have gutters, but let the water fall onto the ground where it would form 'eavesdrips' by erosion, if artificial stone ones were not provided); a piece of cart harness; and small fragments of handmills used by the soldiers to grind their grain ration.

An important discovery was a fragment of tile stamped with the letters NV, which may refer to the numerus vigilum mentioned by the Notitia Dignitatum. If so, this is the first time one of these late numerus units of the Notitia has been attested archaeologically.

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