Monument record 4890/0/2 - Prehistoric Pit Alignment

Cropmarks of a pit alignment aligned approximately north-south was identified on aerial photogaphs during the Northants NMP. The pit alignment was also identified on geophysical survey. Excavation ahead of the construction of the North-West Relief Road revealed four pits and part of a fifth at the northern end of the alignment and the geophysical survey recorded at least another further 14 pits extending for c 80m to the south.

{2} A north-south pit alignment, running for c.250m. A linear feature in the centre of the geophysics transect seems to correspond with the cropmark.
Trial excavation: the edge of a large pit was revealed at a depth of 1.7m; the collapse of the section prevented further recording.

{3} Cropmark; pit alignment. SP73236381 to SP73216362.

{5} At the western end of trench 34 a large circular pit with near vertical sides was partly exposed. This was excavated to a depth of 0.5m without encountering the base. A shallow ditch aligned NE/SW was also seen in the middle of the trench. Neither feature contained any finds.

{9} Excavation ahead of construction of the North-West Relief Road identified four pits and part of a fith in the Area D excavation area. The pits were oval with their long axis aligned with the alignment. A small group of five sherds of Iron Age pottery was found in one of the pits.

<1> Moore, J., 1992, SMR Report Form, (checked) (SMR Report Form). SNN48810.

<2> OXFORD ARCHAEOLOGY UNIT, 1991, King's Heath Whitelands, Northampton: Archaeological Evaluation Report, p.6, 13, 18 (checked) (Report). SNN76714.

<3> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1985, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.240 (checked) (Series). SNN77383.

<4> Northamptonshire HER Collection of Aerial Photographs, Used with NMR & CUCAP collections (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN104822.

<5> Laws G., 2007, Dallington Grange, Northampton: Archaeological Evaluation Report, June 2007, p.8 (checked) (Report). SNN107409.

<6> Harrison, D, 2018, Northampton Western Relief Road, Northamptonshire: Geophysical Survey (Report). SNN112236.

<7> Lawrence, S and Fellingham, A, 2019, Northampton North-west Relief Road: Archaeological Evaluation Report (Report). SNN112235.

<8> Crank, N. (Editor), 2020, South Midlands Archaeology (50), p. 91 (Journal). SNN112426.

<9> Simmonds, A, Teague, S, and Stafford, E, 2025, Northampton North-West Relief Road, Northamptonshire: Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design, Area D (Report). SNN116982.

Record last edited

Jan 29 2026 10:06AM