Monument record 4760/0/46 - Probable medieval closes

Two separate, but contemporary, boundary ditch systems, probably defining closes in use from the 12th to the mid-13th century.

{1} Three parallel north east to south west aligned ditches. Ditch 504 was 1.45m wide and 0.35m deep with steeply sloping sides and a wide flat base, and its fill contained large amounts of charcoal and a single sherd of 11th century St. Neots Ware. Ditch 506 was 0.60m wide and 0.30m deep and had a wide U-shaped profile. Its fill contained a single sherd of 12th century pottery. 506 was truncated on its western edge by ditch 508 which was 1.98m wide and 0.7m deep, with farily steep edges and a wide flat base. The upper fill of 508 contained 11 sherds of pottery dated to the mid 13th century, suggesting it was finally backfilled at around this time. It was probably excavated at around the same time as the previous two ditches.
The ditches may have been boundaries for properties that fronted onto Gray's Lane, possibly those that were formely present as earthworks.

{4} During the 12th-mid-13th century, two ditch systems, A and B, were in use on the site. Several periods of reorganisation took place, indicating a high frequency of activity. Boundary System A, located in the western half of the site, consists of three ditches which enter the site from the western edge, before turning to the south. Two terminate within the area. Two shorter sections of ditch are the earliest features, but all of these ditches date between the 12th-13th-centuries. The larger ditches appear to enclose the area to the south-west.
System, B, in the east of the site, comprised several fairly uniform ditches on alignments of north-west to south-east and north-east to south-west. System B had two modifications to its form, with the first modification comprising two north-west to south-east shallow parallel ditches. A small west-facing entrance can be identified from a gap in the westernmost ditch, though the terminals have been truncated. It is likely that this modification represents a small plot of land which extended back from the road to the south. The second modification to System B comprised two north-east by south-west ditches visible in the south-west corner of site and which truncated the first modification.
The presence of a number of 12th-century pits and/or postholes within the more enclosed area of System A may indicate that the boundaries marked the edge of a medieval property or enclosure. The pits and postholes were cut as part of domestic ‘back yard’ activity, such as the digging of waste pits or fence posts.

<1> Walker, C., 2010, Archaeological Evaluation on Land Off Gray's Close, Paulerspury, Northamptonshire 2010, p.6-7 (checked) (Report). SNN107118.

<2> Chapman P. (Ed.), 2012, Archaeology in Northamptonshire, 2010, 37/204 (checked) (Article). SNN108374.

<3> Horne B. (Editor), 2011, South Midlands Archaeology: CBA Group 9 Newsletter, 41/34 (checked) (Journal). SNN108274.

<4> Kidd, B., 2016, Archaeological mitigation on land at Gray’s Close, Paulerspury, Northamptonshire, March 2015, checked (Report). SNN110299.

<5> Crank, N. (Editor), 2017, South Midlands Archaeology (47), p. 43 (Journal). SNN111362.

Record last edited

Feb 6 2019 1:46PM