ABSTRACT
The only objects brought in from outside the general area are an axe fragment, a few whetstones and two fragments of south-western granite. The excavated stone was found to come mainly from the later medieval and post-medieval periods, although some 36% of the finds came from Roman contexts. A disc from Blacklands is the only object to have come from the excavations. It was found in plow soil, but is typically Roman and likely to relate to the Roman rural settlement. Only two pieces, a slab and a hollowed object, show signs of use. Ham stone was used in Somerset on buildings of all periods, but at Shapwick its main use appears to have been during the Roman period. The various objects are all artefacts that can be paralleled at other local sites, although there is little information on the time span during which the Hestercombe diorite was being utilised.
