Traces of Iron Age, Roman, and medieval activity have been found at the development site for Melksham Community Campus, where Cotswold Archaeology has been excavating on behalf of Wiltshire Council, as advised by Witshire Council Archaeology Service.
The team found Iron Age and Roman settlement phases with rubbish pits, postholes, and boundary ditches. Finds Manager at Cotswold Archaeology, Ed McSloy, reported that the investigations also yielded locally made fragments of pottery dating from the 7th to 4th centuries BC, similar to finds c.7km west at Budbury Hillfort.
Clay roof tiles, possibly linked to a nearby Roman villa or farmstead, were found towards the south of the site, and the archaeologists also uncovered ditches and a wooden structure in alignment with St Michael’s Church and its present boundaries (possibly associated with the church’s development from the 12th century onward).
