Page 53 - John Barber's Oakham Castle and its archaeology

Fig. 3. Plan of excavations, 1954. Showing areas cleared north and south of the wall.

On the northern edge of the site, the outside face of the rampart was removed, exposing not only its bottom layers
but also the old ground surface beneath (Pl. IIIb). Here were found a number of sherds of the fine quality whitish, buff
or pink ware with yellow, pink or green glaze, now known as Stamford ware, together with a few sherds of St Neots
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ware. The ground surface showed no other trace of occupation, apart from a small shallow pit (pit C).
It was discovered that the moat ran at a slight diagonal across the site, being 37ft 6in wide at existing ground level,
while in stanchion hole VI, which lay towards its centre, bedrock was reached at 18ft 3in. Unfortunately, it proved
impossible to obtain a satisfactory drawing of the section revealed. Fig. 2 is a sketch drawing at A-B completed after
the face had been exposed to weathering for some weeks, and it therefore makes no claim to accuracy (see also Pl. I).
At the bottom were two layers of silt which contained a few sherds of medieval wares, and many fragments of leather.
Above this silting; to a depth of c. 4ft below existing ground level, were numerous layers of marl and clay, mixed
with ironstone rubble, which were difficult to distinguish chronologically, some being little more than isolated
spreads of material. The pottery was mostly coarse ware of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and these layers
probably represent casual dumping of this period. Apparently, the moat was not finally levelled in this area until the
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latter part of the eighteenth century, when houses were built on it. The levelling is represented by a layer of clay
about 4ft thick, cut into by house footings.
The most important find from the spoil of the moat, and indeed from the site, was a carved head of Lincolnshire
limestone, dating to the third quarter of the thirteenth century (Pls. IV-VI). It represents a young man with carefully

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