Monument record 9115 - Possible Romano-British Farm, east of Wooldale Road

Archaeological watching brief and excavation revealed parts of a series of Roman ditches forming linear boundaries with associated enclosures. These are dated by the recovered pottery to 3rd and 4th centuries AD. There was also a corn drier/ malt oven of the same date. A coin hoard dating to the mid 4th century had been placed within two pottery vessels and was buried in one of the ditches, and nearby there was an undated inhumation burial. The site lies on the eastern slope of a small valley. Wootton Fields Roman villa lies on the opposite slope of the valley and the features at the Learning Centre site may have been part of the larger villa estate.

{1} Geophysical survey identified possible kilns, a ring ditch showing possible drip gully and maybe a round house and a possible trackway as well as a complex of ditches.

{2} Archaeological evaluation identified a complex of ditches and gullies producing evidence for Romano-British rural activity dating to the 2nd/3rd centuries AD as suggested by the results of the geophysical survey.

{3} The Centre for Learning has produced a small quantity of residual worked flint but no contemporary features were found. A saddle quern and a rubbing stone were also found. They may be of Bronze Age/ Iron Age date on stylistic grounds, but as no other early activity was present they might have been used within the Roman settlement perhaps for some purpose other than grinding grain. There was no evidence for settlement in the Iron Age and only a very sparse quantity of residual early Roman pottery. It therefore appears that while the western valley slopes had been a focus for early settlement, the eastern slopes were devoid of activity until the creation of the ditch systems in the third century. The formation of these ditch systems therefore occurs following the establishment of the villa on the opposite slopes, and it does seem most likely that they formed part of the villa estate established at this time. The presence of the corn drier/ malt oven suggests that this area may have formed part of the villa farm.

A large oval area with a fill of dark soils may have been a silted and filled in pond. A linear ditch ran directly down slope from the pond, and it was linked with a second small possible pond. A broader ditch system ran down slope from this pond, so it would appear that the major ditches may both have providied drainage from the probable ponds. The two main ditches ran parallel and 18m apart, with a sinuous ditch running between them.

Within this area there were a number of scattered small pits and a larger sub-rectangular pit, measuring 3m by 2m. There was also a T-shaped corn drier/malt oven. This comprised a flue, 2.8m long by 0.5-0.8m wide, broadening towards the transverse chamber, which was 2.8m long by 0.2m-0.3m wide. The flue and chamber were lined with rough limestone blocks, but no further information is available as the structure was not excavated.

A coin hoard was recovered from the fill of a small pit, which was cut into the upper fill of a ditch. The hoard had been placed within a small pottery jar with an inverted bowl forming a lid. This had presumably been placed upright in the ground, but it was found partly inverted with the jar and bowl damaged on one side and with the mass of coins having spilled sideways. It may have been damaged and dragged sideways by later ploughing, and a few coins were found immediately to the north beyond the main mass. Due to the wet ground conditions in this area, the copper alloy coins were all corroded and the bulk of them had fused together into a solid mass. Based on the average weight of the loose coins and the estimated weight of the fused coin mass, it would appear that the hoard contains around 1900 coins. From the loose coins available, it appears that the hoard had been deposited at the end of the 330s AD.

<1> Hindmarch E.; Steadman S., 2001, Geophysical Survey, Wootton Fields, Northampton, (checked) (Report). SNN102320.

<2> Carlyle S.; Steadman S., 2002, Archaeological Evaluation at Wootton Fields, Northampton, 2002, (checked) (Report). SNN102321.

<3> Upson-Smith T.; Chapman A., 2004, Archaeological Watching Brief and Excavation at Wootton Fields Centre for Learning, Northampton, p.4 (checked) (Report). SNN104633.

<4> 2001, Proposed Schools At Wootton Fields, South Of Northampton, Environmental Statement, (unchecked) (Report). SNN101543.

Record last edited

Sep 1 2021 12:33PM