ENN110739 - Thrapston Business Park, 2021 (Trial trench)

{1} The evaluation comprised the excavation of 147 trenches, which identified dense Roman activity in the northwest of Area 1 and Area 2. The investigation revealed stratified Roman remains, c. 1.2m deep, associated with the Roman small town of Titchmarsh with a main occupation date from 1st century AD to 2nd century AD and subsequent later activity with the 4th century AD. The investigation also identified evidence for structures within the northern and northwest limits of the Site, beyond the trenched areas. Furthermore, it was established that there were an additional four localised activity areas; enclosures at the north end of Area 8, small enclosures at the east end of Area 8 and west end of Area 2, roadside enclosure and associated activity along the northern end of Area 3 and enclosure activity in the northwest of Area 6. All associated with the Early Roman period. Initial assessment indicates that Roman Titchmarsh extended into the northwest part of Site although no definitive evidence of the Roman road was uncovered, supporting the view that it is located to the north of the Site. Roman Titchmarsh is of regional significance and is one of the key Roman locations within the research agenda for the East Midlands. Archaeological remains were found in 36 trenches. The remains were concentrated in northwest part of the Site with four smaller localised concentrations of archaeology. The data recovered indicated past activity on the site dating to the Roman period. This activity was represented by archaeological artefacts, features and ecofacts. It is likely that the recorded data for Roman period relates to a mix of agriculture and settlement. Archaeological ecofacts give examples of industrial processes occurring on Site. The survival of the archaeological contexts and artefacts were good to poor. Survival had been influenced by the continuous agricultural use of the Site, particular by the lack of ploughing most likely due to the presence of bedrock and heavy clays being typically less than 400mm BPGL. One hundred and eleven of the trenches were devoid of archaeological features and deposits. Areas 5, 7 and 9 were completely blank. [taken from OASIS online page]