Monument record 7624 - Middle to late Iron Age settlement, Grendon Quarry

A trapezoidal Iron Age enclosure at Grendon, part of a complex of cropmarks excavated in 1974-5 in advance of gravel extraction. The enclosure was orientated east-west and measured 72 metres in length. It was 41 metres wide at the east end and 27 metres at the west end. Its western end curved slightly, overlay a ring ditch and presumably almost abutted the mound of the barrow. No definite entrance was located. Roughly central within the enclosed area was a hut circle defined by a series of gullies and with an entrance facing east. Another arc of a gully in the southeast corner of the enclosure may indicate the site of another. Other linear features may subdivide parts of the interior. Others appear to pre-date the enclosure, while some appear to use the enclosure ditches as a common boundary. Air photographs suggest that some of those pre-dating the Iron Age enclosure actually form part of a long rectangular enclosure measuring 86 metres by 17 metres, orientated roughly north-south and with an entrance on the east side. No dating evidence was recovered, but it has been suggested to represent a possible cursus. The finds from the Iron Age enclosure primarily comprise animal remains and potsherds, the latter belonging mainly to the 2nd and 1st centuries BC.

{2} The ditch of the main enclosure enclosed a trapezoid area 72m long and 41m and 27m wide at the east and west ends respectively. Its west side followed the curvature of an earlier ring ditch, suggesting that there was a standing barrow when the enclosure was created. A hut circle, roughly central within the enclosure, was defined by a series of circular gullies with an opening at the east. The only features found within the aea defined by the gullies were three small pits, each containing red clayey loam, many animal bones, and some pottery. There was no evidence of post-sockets in the pits and no other postholes survived.

{3} Pottery from the main enclosure ditch was said to indicate 'occupation towards the end of the pre-Belgic Iron Age'.

<1> Northamptonshire SMR Collection of Aerial Photographs, Used with NMR & CUCAP collections (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN104822.

<2> Jackson D.A., 1995, Archaeology at Grendon Quarry, Northamptonshire: Part 2, Other Prehistoric, Iron Age and Later Sites Excavated in 1974-5, and Further Observations Between 1976-80, p. 11-13 (Report). SNN70994.

<3> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1979, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p. 54 (Site 5) (Series). SNN77380.

Record last edited

Feb 5 2025 7:06PM