Find Spot record 1342/0/0 - Unstratified Iron Age & Romano-British Pottery

{1} Five sherds of Iron Age pottery and some early-middle Roman pottery were recovered from the area of the cropmark.

{2} Upper Darsdale, Site 34(b): five sherds of Iron Age pottery were recovered from the area of the western cropmark complex. As little other pottery of this date has been recovered from the area, it is possible it betokens the initial construction of the enclosures.
Small quantities of predominantly early Roman pottery have been found associated with cropmarks in areas with otherwise sparse distributions at Upper Darsdale (both eastern and western complexes ie. Mons 1342 & 5252), where they might suggest limited activity during the first and second centuries.
The distinction between the two groups of cropmarks persists into the Roman period. Only four sherds were found over the eastern cropmarks (Mon 5252), although a small concentration c.165m to the north-east may attest to some activity in the early-middle period. The western group has greater quantities of pottery, although still low when compared with other sites. The Roman material is mostly early, though occasional middle Roman pottery is present.
While the cropmarks on either side of the valley could denote settlement, the pottery concentrations are barely discernable above the more general scatters, making further interpretation and dating impossible.
The decline in settlement by the late Roman period appears to have been largely confined to the boulder clay plateau.

<1> Parry S., 1993, Raunds Area Survey Report, p.264 (checked) (Draft). SNN1175.

<2> Parry S. et al, 2006, Raunds Area Survey: An Archaeological Study of The Landscape of Raunds, Northamptonshire 1985-94, p.80-81+246 (checked) (Book). SNN105780.

Record last edited

Sep 9 2008 12:06PM