Monument record 3200/0/19 - Later Roman enclosure system and possible temple, Area G

Excavation in 2001 of a non-domestic area of activity comprising a rectilinear enclosure system north of the main Roman settlement area and largely dating to the 3rd and 4th centuries. A single masonry building has been tentatively interpreted as a temple.

{1} Excavation of Area G was undertaken in 2001 ahead of the larger excavations to the south. This area lay to the north of the central area of occupation and appears to be a later expansion of a rectilinear enclosure system. These ditches are orientated northeast to southwest. A well was recorded at the intersection of two ditches. This consisted of a liner constructed of roughly faced limestone blocks forming a square with an internal dimension of 0.40m. This was set in a circular construction cut with a concave profile which at the surface was 3.4m in diameter. At a depth of 1.2m it narrowed to 0.65m where it then dropped vertically as a square shaft with the lining stones pressed directly into the underlying blue clay natural. The well was machine excavated to a depth of 5.2m but was not bottomed.

A major boundary aligned northwest southeast for the whole length of the site with an apparent curve to the west at the western corner of the site. There is a contemporaneous ditch which ran on a southwest alignment from this ditch in the southwest corner of the site. It may reflect an expansion of the settlement from the southwest. The burials aligned on its northeastern side indicate that this may have been regarded as the limit of the main settlement at this time.

The only masonry structure in this area was a rectangular building just northwest of the centre of site and orientated northeast southwest. Only a single course of stone foundation remained and this was truncated at the north-east end by heavy ploughing although enough evidence was seen in OAU evaluation trench 14 to demonstrate its north-east extent. The building would have measured approximately 10 x 6m with a possible 3 x 3.5 m extension or annexe at the southwest end. The foundations were 0.75m in width. A number of more ephemeral internal features may indicate the line of later or less substantial elements of the building. An earlier ditch was deliberately backfilled in order to build structure. The stones that formed the fill of this ditch specifically at the places where walls crossed it evidence this. The exact form of the structure is not clear, as there appears to have been various, more ephemeral walls also playing a part both internally and externally in the layout of the main building. The structure is outside the main focus of the settlement, has an associated enclosure and its own well. Floor levels have been truncated. It has been tentatively interpreted as a temple.

There was a circular pit situated within the area of the structure. It had an external diameter of c.2m but was lined with packing of stone and clay creating a flat-bottomed, vertically sided pit, c.1.5m in diameter and 0.4m in depth. The impression of a piece of timber and a number of nails were noted in the base of the pit. The clay lining of the pit indicates a probable liquid-holding purpose and the association with the well supports this hypothesis. A well was situated at the building's southern corner. It consisted of a liner constructed of limestone blocks with a shaped inner surface set within a square shaft . The well was excavated to a depth of 3.7m but was not bottomed. Limestone colonnette fragments from the well potentially point to a building of some architectural pretension. However, the accompanying finds assemblage is modest, especially when compared to the shrine to the south.

Included in the later Roman phase of activity at this site were five burials. To the north of the building were two inhumation burials 8018 and 8155. A further three inhumations (8012, 8128 and 8131) were found respecting the line of ditch 8294 in the southeast area of the site. The burials were generally in poor condition having suffered various degrees of decay and truncation by ploughing. The graves were orientated northwest-southeast but there were variations in the nature of the burials. Burial 8131 was a decapitation with the head placed between the knees.

There was a possible cremation, heavily truncated and situated to the immediate southeast of the structure.

A number of rubble spreads were investigated in the western half of the site and although these may reflect the existence of buildings, yards or trackways in the vicinity nothing structurally significant could be discerned from them.

<1> Score D., 2002, Kings Meadow Lane, Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, Area G, Archaeological Excavation Interim Repor, p.5-9 (Interim Report). SNN102128.

<2> Lacey M., 2000, Kings Meadow Lane, Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, Archaeological Evaluation Report, (unchecked) (Report). SNN101217.

<3> Lawrence , S & Smith, A, 2009, Between Villa and Town: Excavations of a Roman roadside settlement and shrine at Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire (Monograph). SNN111386.

Record last edited

Feb 26 2025 7:57PM