Monument record 1187/1 - Major Romano-British Iron Working Site

Roman iron smelting and settlement site revealed when a bend in the A43 was straightened in 1985. A row of exceptionally large Roman iron smelting furnaces were found as well as foundations of buildings and a cemetery [1187/2]. Such was the scale of the ironworking that the whole valley was filled with slag and furnace debris. Two of the large furnaces were excavated at the time and a third was excavated in 1998. Further smaller furnaces of a later date were also excavated in 1985. A watching brief undertaken in 1998-9 revealed that the iron working and settlement area was more extensive than previously recorded.

{1} Given as just Laxton. The area adjacent to a row of large furnaces was excavated in 1985; info: D.Jackson. Laxton Bloomeries A and B: substantial slag heap >4000m square. Also rows of low and tall shaft furnaces (both slag-tapping and non-slag-tapping). There was evidence for technological development and ore preparation. Industry was associated with a settlement/cemetery complex dating from the C1st AD to late Romano-British. Unexcavated iron production evidence includes slag-heaps c.450m from the main site, and a general slag scatter spread over the fields nearby. Potentially related to open-cast iron mining nearby.

{3} The row of large furnaces was situated on the side of a small valley and the scale of the work was such that the whole of the valley was filled with slag and furnace debris. Because of the huge quantity present, experts who first saw the slag suggested that it must have come from the modern ironworkings at Corby. The director of the 1998 excavation Peter Crew, identified the site as being of national, if not international importance and stated that it can only be compared to a handful of European sites. Only two furnaces were ecavated during the initial work.
A third furnace, eventually incorporated into the restored verge, was the subject of recent excavations (1998). The furnaces were about 1.5m in diameter, far larger than similar structures of this period found in this country. They were built in a pit and almost certainly had a tall shaft or chimney built above ground level. The row of furnaces was situated on the side of a small valley and the scale of the work was such that the whole of the valley was filled with slag and furnace debris.

{4} A large site with slag up to 2m deep was excavated by D. Jackson. Late and early sherds. Sherds and 'occupation' was seen in rabbit holes at SP96809737. Much slag on the fields but it peters out southwards until the next sites Blatherwyke 1-2 start. Industrial settlement?

{5} During the Roman period iron-ore was dug in very numerous places all over northern Northamptonshire; "slag" throughout that area being constantly found, associated with Roman pottery and coins. Among the chief places where these have been recognised is Laxton.

{6} {3} A road improvement scheme on the A43 at Laxton Lodge revealed a major Roman iron-working site as well as evidence of occupation. In addition to the extensive iron-working complex the road works exposed an inhumation cemetery containing at least 100 graves and the stone foundations of dwellings or workshops. There are numerous references to slag being found in the general area and Roman iron-working furnaces have also been found in the neighbouring parishes of Bulwick and Wakerley.
In the immediate area of the site, there is no evidence of ironworking on the south side, although the abundant slag in the cemetery area suggests the former presence of furnaces nearby. The main extent of the iron-working and settlement probably extends to the east in the area between the new road corridor and the stream, where the land was been sub-soiled after the road-works were completed. A considerable amount of limestone was brought to the surface by this work and damage may have been done to furnaces and buildings there consequently.
There appear to be low mounds of furnace debris sited by the stream, some 450m north-east of the excavation, and Roman iron-working may also extend in this direction. Slag can be seen on the surface of many arable fields around Laxton, even on higher ground, but the date of this has yet to be established. Likewise, there are many old quarry pits in Wakerley Woods, the nearest being about 900m north-west of the Laxton site, which were almost certainly dug to extract the nodular ironstone, and perhaps clay for furnace construction, but again the date is uncertain.
Iron-working at Laxton appears to have been on a massive scale compared to other known sites in the region, and this raises many questions like who owned and controlled the iron industry here? It is possible that local land-owners or the military were involved. Likewise, the use of bricks in furnace construction is more usual in pottery kilns, which raises the possibility of a connection between iron-working and pottery manufacture in the region.
In addition to the iron-working processes the local woodlands may have been controlled and managed over a period of time. Road transport too would have been important, although no Roman roads are yet known in the vicinity of the site.
It is possible that iron-working at Laxton began in the C1st AD and that occupation automatically followed. The dating evidence, including coins of Theodora, Valentinian, Arcadius and Honorius, together with the extensive cemetery, suggests that occupation or activity continued in the area throughout most of the Roman period, but it is not possible to determine if iron-working remained the main activity in the later periods.
The site at Laxton lay beneath pasture, close to the remains of Fineshade Abbey, where it is known that iron-smelting was carried out in the medieval period.

Most Romano-British furnaces belong to the shaft type which has a maximum diameter of 0.5m. The more recently found furnaces are between 1-1.4m in internal diameter which means that the method of working them must have been quite different from the smaller shaft furnaces.
Iron-working activity on the site may have been of two phases, with a row of exceptionally large furnaces occurring in Phase I, and smaller, more conventional, shaft furnaces in Phase 2. In the early period iron-working appears to have been on a massive scale.
The earlier and larger furnaces are of a unique type for Roman Britain but have similarities with furnaces recently excavated in the Austrian Burgenland. Their method of working is largely a matter for conjecture. These furnaces were superseded at Laxton by the more common shaft-furnaces similar to others found in north-east Northamptonshire. It would appear that there were socio-economic reasons for this change. In the earlier periods large amounts of iron were needed, perhaps for military purposes. Later production was reduced and the smaller shaft-furnace was found adequate.

{7} A large Roman iron production site was excavated in 1985 and a number of undated slag sites were known to exist in the Fineshade/Laxton valley. In 1712 John Morton talks of slags at Fineshade where "they lye amassed in great heaps". He considered them to be Saxon in date.

{8} The biggest Roman furnace in Europe was uncovered alongside the A43 near Laxton. The discovery was made by contractors laying new water pipes for Anglia Water.

{10} Trenching revealed that the known iron working and Roman settlement are was more extensive than previously recorded. The line of the water main was altered at one location to avoid damage to a large Roman iron smelting furnace, where a separate excavation subsequently took place.

{11} Pipeline construction led to the excavation of 'Furnace 10', Laxton. The furnace proved to be relatively well preserved, surviving to a rather greater height than those previously excavated. It had four major phases of construction. The later phases were on different alignments and were cut to a deeper level in the subsoil. The final phase had a domed profile, which was 1.50m diameter at the base, reducing to 1.20m at ground level. Plans and reconstructions.

{13} Archaeological find of international importance was uncovered "near Corby" by workmen digging up verge of road.

{16} Outside the area of Laxton Roman settlement no slag or burning was noted in the trench sides or upcast as had been expected. A disturbance was noted on line with the row of furnaces, although no burning was exposed and as a result the function of the disturbance was not clear. A dense deposit of slag and furnace debris at least 1m thick extended from the north of the A43 to a point where it was sealed by colluvium in the valley bottom. A layer of dark soil containing Roman pottery was revealed at the north side of the valley, the layer was 15m to 20m wide and may have extended beneath the colluvium in the valley bottom. Finds were recovered across the site of Roman pottery, tiles and iron slag.

<1> 1998, Monuments Protection Programme: Bloomery Iron Industry (Provisional Step 2 Shortlist), p.25 (checked) (Catalogue). SNN46996.

<2> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1975, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.61 (checked) (Series). SNN77379.

<3> JACKSON D., 1998-9, Roman Ironworking at Laxton, p.159 (checked) (Article). SNN70341.

<4> Hall D.N., 1960-1999, Rockingham Forest Project: Archaeological Sites Recorded by David Hall, Laxton/Site 1 (part checked) (Database). SNN102279.

<5> EVANS J., 1878, Address to The Antiquarian Section of The Meeting of The Institute at Northampton, 1878, p.269 (checked) (Article). SNN105995.

<6> JACKSON D.A.; TYLECOTE R.F., 1988, Two New Romano-British Ironworking Sites in Northamptonshire: A New Type of Furnace?, 19/275-298 (checked) (Article). SNN43553.

<7> Bellamy B.; Jackson D.; Johnston G., 2000-01, Early Iron Smelting in the Rockingham Forest Area: A Survey of the Evidence, p.103-128 (unchecked) (Article). SNN103947.

<8> 1998, Rutland and Stamford Mercury, p.5 (part checked) (Article). SNN46582.

<10> Chapman A.; Chapman P., 2000-01, Laxton, p.228 (checked) (Note). SNN103985.

<11> CREW P., 1999, Laxton Revisited: A First Report on The 1998 Excavations, p.49-53 (part checked) (Article). SNN43429.

<12> FOARD G.R., 1998, Laxton Furnaces, (unchecked) (Photographs). SNN52276.

<13> 1998, The Evening Telegraph, 03/12/1998; p.7 (part checked) (Article). SNN46583.

<14> Dix B.(ed), 1986-7, Archaeology in Northamptonshire 1985-6, p.155 Laxton (checked) (Report). SNN100334.

<15> Tylecote R.F., 1985, A New Type of Iron Bloomery Furnace in Great Britain, (part checked) (Typescript Report). SNN43716.

<16> JACKSON D., 1999, Archaeological Watching Brief During Water Main Renewal in The Laxton Area, Northamptonshire, Sections 4 and 5 (checked) (Report). SNN74298.

<17> 1985, The Evening Telegraph, (unchecked) (Article). SNN58103.

Record last edited

Feb 10 2025 8:15PM