NOTES AND NEWS

The presence of an extensive Romano-British site at Kirmington, S. Humberside (formerly Lincolnshire), has been known for many years. Discoveries made during the construction of the second world war airfield! and subsequently as a result of ploughing, have been prolific; the site, SE 095114 (centre), now enjoys a wide reputation among local coin collectors. That an extensive and successful settlement should have developed at Kirmington can be readily understood. The site lies in a broad valley through the northern Wolds which makes a natural route running from E. to W., and close to Kirmington the valley is traversed by another presumed prehistoric route which serves as a bridleway and as a boundary between numerous parishes, and which crosses the Wolds in a south-easterly direction from the R. Humber at S. Ferriby. Further evidence of the local importance of the position is provided by the defensive earthwork known as Yarborough Camp which stands on the flank of the Wolds overlooking the Kirmington Gap about It km. NW. of the main settlement. In 1966 the first of a small series of iron age coins was found at Kirmington, and an examination of recent surface finds, many still in private possession, suggests that the site was already in occupation during the last century of the pre-Roman iron age. 2 The medieval and modern village of Kirmington lies immediately E. of the site and it is not surprising therefore that a small number of later medieval objects are included among the material recently recovered. Several collectors who regularly fieldwalk at Kirmington have readily agreed to make their finds available for examination and it is proposed in due course to publish drawings and descriptions of much of the material recovered from the site in recent years. During the preliminary stages of this work it was realized that among the prolific Romano-British finds from Kirmington is a small but significant group of objects which suggests the presence of Germanic elements on the site both in the late 4th or early 5th century and later in the 6th century. It was felt that the importance of this material justifies its publication in advance of the full collection, and the owners of the objects, Miss H. Sands and A. Harrison, have kindly co-operated with this proposal.