Monument record 5089/0/2 - Prehistoric linear boundary

Linear ditch aligned east to west, at least 460m long, probably created during the Iron Age

{1} Cropmark recorded in 1979. Possible pit alignment and linear ditch. Very indistinct. SP706586.

{3} NCCAP: SP7058/001.

{4} A discontinuous ditch aligned east to west. This extends for at least 460m and may be a continuation of a boundary recorded in the excavations at Pineham North.

{5} The southern boundary was defined by a ditch which was present in trenches 33, 36, 26, 21, 22 and 15, but not present in trench 25, indicating that there may have been a break in the ditch. The ditch was between 1.35m and 2.20m wide and up to 0.88m deep with a narrow flattish base rising to very steep almost vertical sides. It had been maintained and recut on at least one occasion, suggesting some longevity as a feature in the landscape. In general the fills comprised brown sandy or silty clays. In the basal fill of one of the sections an antler was recovered. Small sherds of what may be early Anglo-Saxon pottery were also recovered from the fill of the recut. This suggests that the ditch may have had its origins from the Iron Age and continued as a boundary into the Roman and Saxon periods.

{6} The earliest probable feature in the landscape was a sinuous ditch, at least 449m long extending westwards and eastwards beyond the limits of excavation. It had been maintained on at least one occasion. The ditch formed the focus of the early landscape as three pit alignments respected its position, perhaps suggesting it was a significant feature in the landscape at the time of the excavation of the pits.
There is potential for obtaining scientific dates for the initial silting of the ditch as well as the final disuse. Cut into the upper fill of the ditch was a crouched inhumation and close by was a further crouched inhumation. Both were undated.

<1> Brown A.E. (ed.), 1980, Archaeology in Northamptonshire 1979, p.176 (checked) (Article). SNN56490.

<2> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1985, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, (unchecked) (Series). SNN77383.

<3> Northamptonshire SMR Collection of Aerial Photographs, Used with NMR & CUCAP collections (Photographs). SNN104822.

<4> Meadows, A, Walford, J, and Simmonds, C., 2014, Archaeological geophysical survey at Pineham Expansion Zone H, Northampton (Report). SNN110116.

<5> Simmonds, C., 2015, Archaeological trial trenching on land at Pineham, Zone H Northamptonshire Interim Statement May 2015, p.5 (Interim Report). SNN110361.

<6> Simmonds C., 2017, Archaeological excavation on land at Pineham Zone H, Northamptonshire September 2015 to May 2016: Assessment report and updated project design (Report). SNN110986.

<6> Simmonds, C, 2019, Archaeological Excavations on land at Pineham Zone H, Northamptonshire September 2015 to May 2016 (Report). SNN112261.

<7> Horne, B (editor), 2016, South Midlands Archaeology (46), p. 43 (Journal). SNN111326.

Record last edited

Jan 24 2019 12:00PM