Monument record 9333/0/1 - Iron Age/Romano-British enclosure and associated trackway

A sub-square ditched enclosure partially excavated during the construction of the A43 Silverstone bypass. Pottery dating to the late Iron Age/early Roman period has been found in the ditch fills.

{1} During GIS a ditched enclosure measuring 65m from north to south and 80m east to west was located in Field 6.

{3} The southern side of the enclosure was defined by a shallow ditch in three phases. The outer ditch was the earliest. It was 0.85m wide and 0.3m deep with a flattish but irregular base. It was replaced by a second ditch of similar proportions. The third phase was broader and curved inward on the western side and terminated, cutting two pits. The eastern and northern sides of the enclosure were formed by a substantial ditch, generally 2.5-3.0m wide and 1.1m deep with steep sides and a narrow base.
There was also a sparse scattering of other features without obvious patterning or purpose. These included an east-west gully about 7m inside the southern boundary to the enclosure and parallel to it. There were four other pits around the southern boundary, apparently unrelated to the pit alignment, and some possible post-holes in this area. In the north-east corner of the enclosure, two pits were found cutting the ditch.

{6} A magnetometer survey identified parts of the northern and western arms of the enclosure. The southern arm was not so clearly detected, possibly due to truncation by a later quarry pit. An internal ditch divided the north-western corner of the enclosure off from the rest of the enclosure. An alignment of pits along the inside of the northern ditch was also detected. Ditches defining the edges of a trackway led from the south-western corner of the enclosure towards the Silverstone Brook.

<1> Chapman A., 1996-97, Archaeology in Northamptonshire 1996-7, p.215 Silverstone (Checked) (Notes). SNN104580.

<2> MASTERS P.; SHAW M., 1997, A43 Silverstone Bypass Evaluation: Stage 2, Fieldwalking and Geophysical Surveys, November 1996-January 1997, Section 5.3 (checked) (Report). SNN63077.

<3> MUDD A., 2002, A43 Towcester to M40 Dualling Project Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design, 2002, pp. 13 (unchecked) (Report). SNN103239.

<4> 2000-01, A43 Dualling Project, Silverstone Site 2, (unchecked) (Note). SNN103973.

<5> Chapman A., 1996-97, Archaeology in Northamptonshire 1996-7, 27/215 (checked) (Notes). SNN104580.

<6> Walford, J, 2017, Archaeological geophysical survey at Silverstone Fields Farm, Northamptonshire, March 2017 (Report). SNN111107.

Record last edited

May 15 2018 10:26AM