Monument record 9691 - Site of Romano-British settlement

A Roman settlement identified as cropmarks and subsequently confirmed by geophysical survey and trial trench evaluation

{1} An area of detailed survey was carried out over Field 4 targeting cropmarks of a possible landscape park. A wealth of anomalies was detected, the majority of which were concentrated towards the south of the field. Three weakly circular positive anomalies in the centre of Field 4 probably represent ring ditches, 14m and 10m across. Weak positive, rectilinear anomalies, south of a pair of ring ditches, indicate probable small enclosed fields. South of these, strong positive linear anomalies define a ditched boundary aligned east-west. This intersects an L-shaped anomaly, which may form the north-western corner of a large ditched enclosure that continues eastward and southward beyond the surveyed area. This indicates that there are at least two phases of ditch system development in this area. Across the southern part of Field 4, further strong linear anomalies define the northern and western sides of a large enclosure, c 100-150m long and in excess of 50m wide. The interior was densely occupied by positive magnetic anomalies forming a complex palimpsest of features, too multifarious to describe individually. These are likely to include two ring ditches, numerous linear ditches and several pits.

{2} Trial trench excavation largely confirmed the results of the earlier geophysical survey, in particular the dense group of features in the south part of the field. Of particular note were four pits, each containing a ceramic storage vessel set into the ground. Two substantial stone-lined postholes strongly suggest the presence of at least one building, perhaps even an aisled barn. The presence of a possible stone-lined culvert also suggests the presence of a substantial building. The pottery from this area dates fairly tightly to the 1st and 2nd centuries, with only a few possible earlier and later sherds. This seems to suggest a relatively short-lived settlement, although the repeated re-cutting of several of the ditches appears to contradict this.

Kiln bar fragments and fired clay artefacts that may have formed part of kiln structures were found in this area.

<1> Butler A., 2010, Archaeological geophysical survey on land east of Kettering, Northamptonshire, p. 7 (Report). SNN107967.

<2> Gilmour, N., 2012, Land east of Kettering, Phase A: Archaeological evaluation, 2012, p. 30 (Report). SNN110464.

Record last edited

Mar 2 2017 3:05PM