Monument record 3299 - Iron Age & Romano-British Settlement

Iron Age and Roman settlement site consisting of 1st to 2nd century pottery, with kiln waste, ditches and a stone lined well containing animal bones. An inhumation burial and worked flints were found.

{1} Excavation of 1968 revealed a stone-lined well 4.7m deep. It contained Romano-British pot sherds and animal bones. Copy of section by Hollowell. Unstratified finds of Iron Age pottery, kiln bars, an iron sickle or bill hook, worked flints, a skeleton and a leather sole. Some finds were made in 1959 by Hollowell.

{3} In 1967 a large area of top soil was scraped away revealing Roman ditches and a wide circle of stones a little over 2ft across. After further investigation it was concluded that this might be a Roman well. Owing to the narrow width of the inside of the well only 3ft of infill could be taken out, so it was decided to wait until the sand-pit face had approached within a few feet so that the well could be investigated from its outer side. Excavation started during the Christmas period 1968 and the well was found to be some 18ft deep and straight sided, stone lined, varying only slightly in width, but just a little wider at the bottom than the top. Small fragments of pottery, mainly grey ware, Castor ware and samian ware, were found all the way down. These included a grey ware pie dish with lattice decoration probably belonging to the C3rd, as well as two storage jars of buff gritted ware. The most interesting find perhaps was the large quantity of animal bones, including mouse remains in a wonderful state of preservation. The water level was encountered 4ft above the bottom of the well.
During the observation period between the initial scraping and the 1968 excavation human bones were found in the edge of the sand pit. When excavated these were found to have been disturbed and reburied with the skull broken in several pieces and the complete skeleton placed in a hole no more than 3ft square. As the pit dated back to beyond living memory it was felt that the human remains had been disturbed many years before by the quarry diggers and reinterred.

{4} SP874581. Golf Course Sand Pit. Since 1959 archaeological material and features have been observed in the sand pit. The features include ditches, pits and a well. The finds include worked flints, pottery of Belgic type, Roman pottery, and an iron bill hook or sickle. Fragments of clay bars might suggest a kiln in the vicinity.

{5} Iron Age and Roman Settlement and Kiln (?) (SP 874581), found in a sandpit at 70 m above OD. In 1968 some late Iron Age and much 1st and 2nd-century Roman pottery, kiln bars and an iron sickle were discovered here as well as traces of ditches and pits. A stone-lined well, 4.7 m. deep, was excavated and found to contain Roman pottery and animal bones. An inhumation burial was also recorded as well as worked flints and the remains of a leather sole.

{9} The pit is still being worked and is now fairly extensive; no archaeological finds were made at the time of field investigation and the pit foreman (who was present when the excavation of Authority {1} took place and confirmed the approx siting of this authority) knew of no further finds other than 2 large mill stones, these are 1.5m in diameter and are of 19thc origin.

<1> Northampton Museum Notebook, Vertical Section and Notes, (unchecked) (Archive). SNN43995.

<2> 1968, CHRONICLE & ECHO, 29/7/1968 (Journal). SNN30830.

<3> Brown, A.E. (Ed.), 1970, Archaeology in Northamptonshire 1969 (Roman), 4/14-15 (checked) (Article). SNN100535.

<4> HOLLOWELL R., 1971, Aerial Photography and Fieldwork in the Upper Nene Valley, p.19 (checked) (Journal). SNN106546.

<5> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1979, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.183/Site 9 (checked) (Series). SNN77380.

<6> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, SP85NE29 (checked) (Index). SNN443.

<7> Northampton Museum Topographical Index, (unchecked) (Index). SNN1470.

<8> Moore W.R.G., 1968, Roman Settlement in the Upper and Middle Nene Valley, (unchecked) (Uncertain). SNN15188.

<9> Colquhoun, FD, 1970, Field Investigator's Comments, F1 FDC 9-SEP-70 (Notes). SNN111540.

Record last edited

Apr 29 2025 3:09PM