Monument record 4558/1/1 - Iron Age Enclosure (Morphed Aerial Archaeology Interpretation)

Crop/soilmark: Good quality photography HER note 02/09/2014: mapping shows the enclosure as detected by geophysical survey with the NMP cropmark mapping to the south east

{2} An irregularly shaped inner ditched enclosure matches the plan of the cropmark but is offset a little to the north of its recorded location. This is set within a larger rectilinear enclosure. A few magnetic anomalies, suggestive of archaeological features, may indicate internal features within the enclosure. Magnetic susceptibility did not increase within the enclosure, suggesting that it was not the focus of concentrated or extended settlement activity.
Surrounding cropmark 6090/0/9 was a larger rectilinear enclosure, which had not been identified as a cropmark. The western end of the enclosure was detected, but the eastern end may be obscured by recent disturbances. Magnetic susceptibility did not increase within the enclosure, suggesting that it was not the focus of concentrated or prolonged settlement activity.

{3} The presence of a modern sewer pipe is likely to have damaged or destroyed the eastern side of the enclosure.
Trench 9: A curvilinear feature, 0.7m wide. Its fill produced no dating evidence.
Trench 10: A curvilinear feature, 0.9m wide and 0.5m deep. A line of fire-cracked pevvles was visible on the surface of the feature. The profiles of the fills implies a re-cut consistent with a boundary redefinition following silting. The upper fill contained bone and Iron Age pottery.
A substantial linear feature 2.3m wide. The ditch sides sloped down at approx 45 degrees to a narrow, rounded base 1.05m deep. Iron Age pottery and animal bones were recovered from the fill.
Trench 11: A poorly defined linear feature approx 2.5m in width. It was not excavated.

{4} The enclosure had a double entrance, the inner entrance defined by a large ditch ([37]) with later recut [1] & [39]. It ranged in width from 2.4m to 2.9m, being wider at the south-west orientated entrance. It also ranged in depth from 1.2m to 2m at the ditch terminal. The gap between the ditches at the inner entrance was 2.45m. The primary cut [37] was mainly truncated away by the later recut [39], but where visible had almost vertical sides and a flat base.
The recut ditch [1] & [39], had gradual sides with a slight step to much sharper, almost vertical sides, with a tapered rounded base. The ditch contained 58 sherds of Iron Age pottery, 2 worked flints (secondary flakes) and a small quantity of animal bone. The ditch terminal sections contained large quantities of sandstone fragments, especially in the lower fill. These could represent evidence for a stone revetment.
A further smaller ditch ([9] & [26]) had been added as an extension to the main enclosure. It also had a south-west orientated entrance 4.89m wide. It was generally 1m wide, being slightly wider at the terminal (1.4m) and also ranged in depth from 0.56 – 0.78m. It had sharp sides and a slightly pointed base and contained 25 sherds of Iron Age pottery.

Speed, G., 2015, A pit alignment, Iron Age settlement and Roman cultivation trenches west of South Meadow Road, Upton Northampton (Report). SNN110230.

<1> Northamptonshire SMR Collection of Aerial Photographs, Used with NMR & CUCAP collections (Photographs). SNN104822.

<2> Bartlett A., 2010, South Meadow Road: report on archaeogeophysical survey 2010, p.3 (checked) (Report). SNN106678.

<3> Browning J., 2010, An Archaeological Evaluation by Trail Trenching on Land off South Meadow Road, Northampton, p.12, 14 (checked) (Report). SNN107014.

<4> Speed G., 2013, An Archaeological Excavation on Land to the West of South Meadow Road, Upton, Northamptonshire, p.13 (checked) (Report). SNN109336.

Record last edited

Mar 16 2016 12:16PM