Urban Archaeology

...define, record, remove...

Urban excavation factsheet 1

ROBBER CUTS

Masonry and mudbrick/clay walls and structures were often robbed to salvage and reuse their materials, this often leaves evidence in the form of a robber cut and backfills. It may be possible to recover much information on the original composition of the wall given careful excavation. Wall chasing should be avoided at all costs -it is a sure way to destroy vital stratigraphic information. The establishment of the original construction level of the wall is one of the most important facts to try and ascertain. Excavate stratigraphically and record as you go, revising sheets and plans as more information becomes apparent. When excavating robber cuts you should look out for any details that may indicate the original construction level, and take care to record the sequence stratigraphically. The original construction cut of the wall may survive -this will need a separate record to the robber cut. Look out for changes in the robber cut that may indicate different builds of wall.
Robber may be wider than original wall, especially higher up
1 5 7 10 14 15 [4] 3 17 [19] 20 2 9 13 16 12

Floor and occupation trample indicates internal side

8 11

Collapsed mud brick wall indicates construction of wall and possible destruction level

Construction trample indicates possible construction level

Discard material, often at base of trench. May indicate build of wall and surface treatment like render, wall plaster or stone veneer/cladding Look out for timber piles cut by robbing trench

Mortar/masonry that survived robbing. To be given separate masonry and cut sheets to the robber trench

Take care with the stratigraphic matrix for robber cuts. Be sure to only include demonstrable relationships. Different depths of robber cut, or changes in width or alignment, may indicate different builds or phases of walls and therefore different construction levels. Roman masonry was often actively robbed out, especially in the medieval period. If an area of walling is not robbed it may indicate the presence of a later road or building above which did not allow robbing.

1 2 3 [4]

layer sealing robber cut backfill of robber discarded material from wall robber cut

6 8 10 11 floor 14 15 [17] [18] [19] surviving masonry piles construction cut 20

5 7 9 12 13 16

layers cut by robber levelling over destroyed building wall collapse internal and external trample external surface construction trample

brickearth

Chiz Harward, Urban Archaeology 2006, revised 2014

contact: chiz@urban-archaeology.co.uk

Urban Archaeology
...define, record, remove...

Urban excavation factsheet 1

ROBBER CUTS

Questions to ask include: what was the construction level of the wall? How many builds were there? Can you tell whether sides were internal or external? What do remaining fragments or discarded fragments of masonry in the backfill indicate about the build? Material discarded into the robber may indicate original construction techniques and materials, and whether there was more than one phase. Discard material may include worked stones that were less valuable to the robbers, but which tell us much more about the appearance of the structure. Longitudinal section

Strat separating robbing episodes

Medieval robber cut Roman robber cut

Masonry A wall may have been partially robbed in the Roman period, the rest in the Medieval period as in the example here.

Longitudinal section

Robber trench

Robber trench

Masonry

This example indicates two robber trenches. This may be caused by an intervening property boundary resulting in a small fragment of surviving masonry. Walls may be robbed at different times and from different levels, be careful not to chase the robber cuts without checking it is all one phase. Different depths or widths of robber trench may indicate different builds of wall and different construction levels. Robbing was often extensive and may be related to the need for stone for specific buildings such as a church. Robber cuts are not always linear -and they may have only one side e.g. where a retaining wall or facing has been removed. Longitudinal sections may give more information than transverse sections.
Chiz Harward, Urban Archaeology 2006, revised 2014 contact: chiz@urban-archaeology.co.uk