During the excavation of a roman villa in Essex, a well was discovered. A wooden well lining and wooden objects from inside the well pit were recovered. The lining forms a square bottomless box that was made from sawn planks of oak, joined with dovetail joints and no nails. The oak pieces within the well appear to be offcuts from other building work.
Darrah, R., Wood (2003). In Germany, M., Excavations at Great Holts Farm, Boreham, Essex, 1992-94. Essex County Council, 2003. pp.182-190
This is an evaluation of 535 worked timbers from the Carlisle millennium excavation of a roman fort. These timbers had been stored since the excavation in 2000 and were examined in 2003. The source of the timber is considered, as are the timber preparation and building techniques used. Findings are compared to those of other roman forts of the same era.
The fort was rebuilt several times. The first fort was built from alder and ash, later forts were predominantly built from oak. The timber was prepared by splitting in the early forts and saws were used later.
Not yet published.
3. The Roman Settlement at Scole
There is a large roman settlement at Scole, containing waterlogged timbers which have been preserved. Much information can be gained from this timber about the timber source, felling, conversion techniques, tools and joints. Oak appears to have been the timber of choice; despite the quality of the oak dropping in later centuries. This suggests that by the end of the 2nd century there were no longer supplies of slow-grown timbers. The main tools used were the axe, adze and saw. Early timbers were produced by splitting, while later timbers were sawn, except at the edge of the settlement were splitting continued to be used. In regards to joints, the techniques used have been chosen to minimize the need for nails.
