ENN108219 - Foxhills 2016 (Excavation)

Between February and May 2016 MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) carried out archaeological mitigation on land at the Foxhills site, Brackley, Northamptonshire. A small amount of residual Neolithic/early Bronze Age flint work was recovered. The site displayed limited early Iron Age activity with only two possible postholes. The main occupation took place in the middle Iron Age and comprised three separate domestic loci within an agglomerated settlement that collectively consisted of four ring-ditched round houses, a rectilinear building, enclosing structural postholes and hearths. There were 18 other circular and rectilinear enclosures, 46 square four or six-post granary storage structures and as many as 110 grain storage pits. This also included five large intercutting pit clusters. Other discrete pits and postholes were also present. The settlement had declined by the late Iron Age that was limited to two circular enclosures a stone spread and a few storage pits. A reasonable assemblage of finds, including locally made pottery, animal bone, eight saddle querns, and some charred cereal grains and small amount of slag were recovered from the features of the different Iron Age periods. The presence of a large number of grain storage facilities in association with the moderate number of saddle querns retrieved indicates grain production and processing was probably central to the function of this settlement during the Middle Iron Age. Information from OASIS Online Form.