ENN110839 - HS2: Stone House and Chipping Warden Airfield, 2020-21 (Excavation)

The Archaeological Recording encompassed four parcels of land designated as C32055, C32056, C32057 and C32058 at Stone House and Chipping Warden Airfield, Northamptonshire, hereafter referred to as ‘the Site’ (1C20STOAR). The Site is located in an area to the north of the village of Chipping Warden and is within the Greatworth to Lower Boddington Community Forum Area (CFA15). The programme of Archaeological Recording took place between 12.11.2020 and 23.09.2021. The Archaeological Recording comprised an area which measured 2.69ha in total, broken down as follows: • C32055 1.23ha • C32056 0.66ha • C32057 0.68ha • C32058 0.12 ha Previous geophysical survey and trial trenching carried out in 2017 and 2020 identified areas of potential prehistoric and Roman activity across the Site. The aim of the archaeological investigation was to identify the extent and character of any surviving archaeological remains within the site. A 360 degree excavation with a toothless grading bucket stripped the overburden to first archaeological deposit/geological interface under the direction of an archaeological operative. A pre-excavation survey was carried out and a sampling strategy was decided. Archaeological features were hand excavated and bulk soil samples were recovered from targeted deposits. Fieldwork recording was carried out, including written record of individual contexts, hand-drawn and surveyed plans and sections, photography, and a site Harris Matrix. Surveyed data was recorded with Real Time Kinematic (RTK) Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) equipment referenced from permanent ground markers Upon completion of the programme of archaeological recording the site was returned to the main works contractor. Project Results: The Archaeological Recording at Chipping Warden revealed a site that was dominated by evidence for settlement spanning the Middle Iron Age to the 4th century AD. There was also evidence for activity during the Late Neolithic period and the early Bronze Age, although this was small-scale and ephemeral. The Late Neolithic was evidenced by the deposition of flint flakes and blades within a pit. Residual Neolithic material was also present in a later gully, suggesting that earlier deposits were disturbed. Evidence for the Bronze Age was found in C32057 and was represented by a gully containing comb-impressed Beaker pottery. Residual Bronze Age pottery was also recovered from later features across the site. Iron Age activity was identified within areas C32056 and C32058. In C32056 this was limited to a circular waste pit that contained large amounts of charcoal, a single sherd of Iron Age shelly ware and undated flints. Iron Age activity was also identified c.400m to the southwest, in area C32058. Here, 90 sherds from a single Middle Iron Age jar were recovered from a burial that contained the disarticulated remains of three juveniles. This burial was located at the entrance to a rectilinear enclosure, which may have been constructed as a funerary enclosure. Evidence for more substantial settlement at the Site is related to the digging of a series of ditches and gullies in C32055, C32056 and C32057. Pottery recovered from these features suggests continuous use from the Late Iron Age through to the Roman period, with associated use ending at some point in the 4th century. They are likely to have functioned as enclosures dividing land use and for stock management. Animal bone recovered from across the Site was dominated by cattle and sheep/goat remains, suggesting that these were the focus of the agricultural economy. Smaller amounts of horse, pig and goose remains indicate that these were also managed at the Site. Evidence for domestic structures was most prevalent in the northern part of C32055, where two roundhouses and one rectangular structure were identified. Pottery recovered from these features dated to the Roman period. A possible disturbed roundhouse was identified in C32056. Two Roman trackways, with adjacent drainage gullies, were located in C32055, indicating that the Site was connected to the surrounding Romano-British landscape. These may have connected, forming a junction beside the southeastern limit of excavation. Five inhumations were identified in C32055, dated to the Roman period. A further burial, in a crouched position, was identified in the northern part of C32056, which may date from the Iron Age through to the Roman period. Further work including absolute dating, osteoarchaeological analysis and placing the site in its wider context will allow a better understanding of how this site aids our our understanding of the temporal and regional changes in Iron Age/Roman settlement and agricultural activity in this area of England. Information from OASIS Online form.