Monument record 5354/1 - Probable middle Iron Age to early Roman farmstead and associated field system

Archaeological investigation ahead of the construction of the Higham Ferrers-Rushden bypass identified part of an Iron Age and Roman site. A complex series of settlement enclosures dating from the middle Iron Age through to the 2nd century AD were excavated. A significant assemblage of pottery and animal bone was retrieved, although other find types were rare.

{1} The chaotic anomalies shown on a previous geophysics plot thought to be kilns or hearths, appear to be caused by dumps of material in the ditch fills. There was a reasonably large quantity of domestic refuse, including a quernstone in the ditches that were situated in trenches 1 and 2. There was evidence of intercutting ditches, with at least two phases of ditches of different allignments in Trench 3. The pottery recovered indicates that occupation began in the Iron Age and continued into the early Roman period. The earlier gullies yielded Roman pottery suggesting that the Iron Age occupation area lies outside of the area investigated.

{2} The remains found during the excavation are generally indicative of a small farmstead of modest status. The earliest phase of the site is not closely datable, but features yielded exclusivley hand-made pottery in the middle Iron Age tradition. The features include curving gullies which can probably be interpreted as eaves-drainage gullies surrounding roundhouses. These are the only evidence of structures on site. A boundary ditch aligned NE-SW was situated to the east of the the eaves drip gullies. In a later phase the ditch was redefined, with perhaps two further episodes of digging.

Later Iron Age settlement was focussed around an oval enclosure. A large pit, or well, was dug through the backfill of an earlier ditch; it contained exclusivley late 1st / early 2nd century pottery and does not appear to have been in use for very long; it was about 1.6m deep; there was no waterlogging in its base and it is unclear whether it had dug as far as the waterhole;

The site also showed a complex pattern of intercutting ditches, these formed boundaries to small fields and enclosures whose positions shifted over time. The site was a focus for occupation during the Iron Age, by the later 1st century, the site was characterised by ditches of a more rectilinear character;

In the late first century, a staggered ditch sytem was created. There appears to have been a focus of activity in the southern part of the site, with a complex of shallow gullies forming small rectangular enclosures. The main axis of land division in the later 1st century was defined by a ditch aligned NW-SE. This land division was re-dug on at least one occasion.

{3} The geophysical survey identified a strong linear feature, a ditch set on a north-east to south-west alignment. This was excavated during the evaluation, and it was found that it corresponded with a ditch system excavated on the site to the west, dating to the late Iron Age; several further gullies may also have been related to this ditch system;

{4} Unclassified cropmarks located by aerial photography. Probably the same site as HER Mon 3186.

<1> Hayward S., 2001, A6 Rushden - Higham Ferrers Bypass, Site 3, Archaeologcial Trial Excavation, (unchecked) (Report). SNN101431.

<2> Mudd A., 2003, A6 Rushden and Higham Ferrers Bypass Site 3: Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design, P. 8 (Report). SNN103244.

<3> Leigh D.; Morris S.; Westgarth A.; Chapman A., 2004, A Programme of Archaeological Works Along the Anglian Water Pipeline Rushden to Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, p.3-4 (unchecked) (Report). SNN104680.

<4> CHAPMAN A.; SHAW M., 1996, A6 Rushden And Higham Ferrers Bypass: Archaeological Desk Top Assessment, p.3 (checked) (Report). SNN63072.

<5> Rees G., 2008, Enclosure Boundaries and Settlement Individuality in The Iron Age, (unchecked) (Article). SNN106040.

<6> Masters P., 2001, Additional Geophysical Survey at Site 3, A6 Rushden - Higham Ferrers bypass (Report). SNN102148.

<7> MUDD A., 2004, Iron Age And Roman Enclosures Near Higham Ferrers: The Archaeology of The A6 Rushden and Higham Ferrers Bypass (Article). SNN112187.

Record last edited

Oct 9 2024 2:45PM