ENN5798 - GPO Telephone Exchange, 1967 (Watching brief)

{1} In 1967 work was carried out on an extension to the telephone exchange which had been inserted into the NW corner of Towcester's defences in the 1950s. The extension lay over the Great Ditch and was supported on stanchions, and no sections were drawn across the feature, but during the course of the work the path to the north and west of the existing building was widened, and the north and west faces of that excavation drawn. In addition the cutting and measured drawing of further sections took place before the construction of a deeply cut road parallel and adjacent to the north face of the existing building, which gave access for lorries down into the ditches area, where a considerable quantity of their fill was removed, but with virtually no record. Woodfield redrew and reinterpreted the original work suggesting that there was some sort of bastion here. {2} The SW town defences were exposed in contractors works; the wall had been almost entirely robbed away, but the profile of the ditch was visible. {3} Building extension has revealed the profile of the ditch and corner of the SW defences of the town. Wall almost completely robbed away. Complete 2nd century pots and much domestic debris and pottery in disturbance above walls.