ENN109863 - Sywell Aerodrome, 2020 (Trial trench)

A pre-determination archaeological evaluation on land at Sywell Aerodrome, Northamptonshire, on behalf of Sywell Aerodrome Ltd has demonstrated that a series of cropmarks represent features associated with Iron Age settlement and also that the settlement extends further to the north and north-west than the cropmarks suggested. Despite significant recent truncation and disturbance by modern construction and demolition activities many of the features exhibit good survival: one pit was almost 1m deep. Ceramic finds bear a close resemblance to those recovered during previous excavations on the site, and it is anticipated that further analysis will indicate an early-middle Iron Age date for many of the excavated features. Flintwork recovered from the subsoil in many trenches indicate background earlier prehistoric activity, most likely during the late Mesolithic/early Neolithic, while a possible ditch in the south-west corner of the site could date from the Roman period.