Siston Through Time

1. Iron Age and earlier

   Before AD 43 Not yet confirmed

   Found by the group

   • Sherd Iron Age? Pottery that may be Iron Age, or early Saxon (the TR39 sherd)
   • Flints Prehistoric? Flints, found with a new wall return

   What the records say

   No written records reach back this far. The finds are the only evidence.

2. Roman

   AD 43 to 410

   Found by the group

   • AD 70 to 200 Fibula brooch, found the day Digging for Britain filmed
   • 2nd to 4th century AD Enamelled stud with traces of blue enamel
   • Late 3rd to mid 4th century Romano-British belt buckle
   • AD 364 to 378 Coin of the emperor Valens, with Winged Victory

   What the records say

   1. 1863

      Kelly’s Directory records that “Overs was a Roman settlement”. Read the post

3. Saxon

   410 to 1066

   Found by the group

   • c. 750 to 900 Strap end in copper alloy
   • c. 10th century Harness cheek piece
   • Late Saxon Hooked tag
   • Late Saxon or Viking Type 1 Chippenham arrowhead

   What the records say

   1. Before 1066

      Anne held Syston in the reign of Edward the Confessor. Read the post

4. Medieval

   1066 to 1540

   Found by the group

   • Medieval Wall and paving in the mound, TR46
   • 1100 to 1250 Ham Green ware from the TR45 ditch
   • c. 1200 to 1400 Copper alloy annular brooch
   • 1400 to 1413 Venetian soldino of Michele Steno
   • Medieval Padlock

   What the records say

   1. 1086

      Domesday: Syston passes from Saxon to Norman hands. Read the post

   2. Norman

      St Anne’s porch, with its Tree of Life tympanum. Read the post

   3. 1265

      The King orders live deer for Robert Walerand at Siston. Read the post

   4. 1358

      Roger Otory is instituted Rector of Syston. Read the post

5. Post-medieval

   1540 to 1800

   Found by the group

   • Pins Medieval or early post-medieval Hair or dress pin heads

   What the records say

   1. 1612

      A terrier lists the glebe lands of the parsonage of Syston. Read the post

   2. Civil War

      Cromwellian bullet holes in St Anne’s door. Read the post

6. Modern

   1800 to today

   Found by the group

   • 2021 to today 2,676 finds recorded by the group

   What the records say

   1. 1863

      Kelly’s Directory lists Syston’s farms and trades. Read the post

   2. c. 1880

      The earliest photographs of St Anne’s. Read the post

   3. 2019

      A desk-based assessment of the Glebe Field: the study the dig grew from. Updated in March 2026 for the University of Bristol. Read the post

   4. 2021

      The group opens its first trenches. The dig, season by season →

The eras are not drawn to scale. Find dates come from the group’s Top Finds and Diary posts. Dates with a question mark haven’t been confirmed yet.