Could this pipe be Roman?

wavetrain · 3 May 2011

During digging footings for an outbuilding at the bottom of our 1928 house formally of farm land in London suburbs I came across this pipe. It is about 1 m below ground level and around 2.5 " in diameter. 2 pipes can be seen butted together with a small gap that a knife can slip inside where clay is found. This hole was dug so I could pump it out daily to drain the site - I will not be doing anymore deep digging for some weeks.

Do the experienced hands think this is an old pipe layed to drain the fields pre 1928 or could it have been layed by the developer in 1928? The surrounding land is flat with a very slight slope to a brook 500m away which the fields could have been drained into in the past

Roman pipe

wavetrain
3 May 2011
1

freddiemercurystwin · 3 May 2011

Are you really planning on building an outbuilding at the bottom of your house?

Please do not leave spaces between your numbers and your abbreviations.

The term butted together actually means joined together with no gap however you have intimated that there is a gap.

You sentence starting with the words "This hole was dug so I could pump" really ought to say "This hole was dug so that I could pump".

At least use the word rather than the figure when using a number to begin a sentence.

Please note that layed should be spelt laid.

Its sad to see poor grammar used on the Forum.

noseall · 3 May 2011

Looks like a typical butted land drain to me.

Come across loads.

wavetrain · 3 May 2011

Thank you nosey, do you think I should leave it in place and allow it to pass through the new footing?

FMT I agree about my spelling and grammar, I will try harder I promise. I do try however and I do at least capitalise my 'I's and the beginning of my sentences, whereas some of the text riddled forum users cannot be bothered, this is the point, is it not?

Regarding the butted land drain that nosey has identified, it would have been laid butted, but has moved slightly over the years. Here you have let yourself down with your flawed critique FMT.

stuart45 · 3 May 2011

The farmers used to cover the pipes with bits of thorn bushes to allow water to drain through into the pipes. After a while they rotted and allowed some clay to enter.

noseall · 3 May 2011

wavetrain said:
Thank you nosey, do you think I should leave it in place and allow it to pass through the new footing? .

Absolutely yes. Cover it or wrap it with polythene or cellophane or split a 110mm drain pipe and try and use this as a conduit through the footing.

Either way it will do no harm to try and preserve this drain.

^woody^ · 3 May 2011

Yes it's possibly Roman

Roman Adraininaditch - a leading groundwork subbie from AD50 in the Londinium area

Nige F · 3 May 2011

freddymercurystwin said:
Are you really planning on building an outbuilding at the bottom of your house?

You sentence starting with the words "This hole was dug so I could pump" really ought to say "This hole was dug so that I could pump".

Its sad to see poor grammar used on the Forum.

I brought a pump on the `net- it added 2" . I layed down after using it cuz the blood drained from me `ed

freddiemercurystwin · 3 May 2011

wavetrain said:
Here you have let yourself down with your flawed critique FMT.

No not at all, it was a butt joint however as you say it has now opened up so the pipe ends are no longer butt jointed.

wavetrain · 3 May 2011

FMT am I right in thinking you didn't enjoy the wedding last week?

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Could this pipe be Roman?

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