Monument record 4865/0/1 - Possible Bronze Age barrow cemetery, Overstone Farm

Various phases of archaeological investigation have identified at least fiveclosely spaced ring ditches. Trial trench investigation of the ring ditches has not found any reliable dating evidence. A possible double-ditched feature, originally thought to be of Neolithic origin, may be a Bronze Age barrow with a single ditch.

{1} A pair of circular anomalies, 22m in diameter, likely to indicate the ring ditches of ploughed-out Bronze Age round barrows. A pair of concentric, semi-circular, positive anomalies was identified. The outer ditch feature was approximately 40m in diameter. The inner ring - possibly composed of individual pits - was c.1.8m across, although anomalies from an adjacent wall obscured the southern side slightly. A hengiform feature such as this parallels to some extent one detected at Cotton Henge, Raunds.

{4} The northern ring ditch 4 was 21.5m in diameter and its eastern arm was seen in Trench 116. No internal features or a mound were present within the ditch. The ditch was 0.56m wide and up to 0.66m deep with a steep sided U- shaped profile. The ditch was later recut twice, both of which had wider U-shaped profiles with eroded eastern edges.
The southern ring ditch was 21 m in diameter and its south-eastern arm was seen in Trench 115. The ditch was 2.12m wide and up to 0.76m deep with a U- shaped profile. No internal mound deposits were present within the boundary of the ditch. However, there were three pits in the centre of the ring ditch. A rectangular shaped pit was aligned south-west to north-east and was 1.2m long, 0.50m wide and up to 0.17m deep with a U-shaped profile. To the south was a pit measuring at least 0.83m long, 0.88m wide and up to 0.32m deep. A third pit was located 1.1m to the south-east. It measured 0.5m long, at least 0.4m wide and up to 0.2m deep with a slightly concave profile.

{5} In 2019, geophysical survey of the fields immediately adjacent to Overstone Farm identified three single ring ditches. The northern ring ditch has previously been identified as a double ditched feature, but it was considered that this was likely to be spurious.
Subsequent trial trench excavation found ditches associated with only two of the ring ditches. However, it was noted that prolonged silting of the ditches may have made them hard to discern against the natural geology and longer periods of weathering may make them easier to discern. No dating evidence apart from a single sherd of prehistoric, possibly Iron Age, pottery was found.

<1> Butler A., 2009, Archaeological Geophysical Survey at Overstone Leys, Northamptonshire April 2009, p.9 (checked) (Report). SNN107975.

<2> Chapman P. (Ed.), 2010, Archaeology in Northamptonshire, 2009 (36), 36/187, 188 (checked) (Article). SNN107503.

<3> Horne B. (Editor), 2010, South Midlands Archaeology (40), 40/19 (checked) (Journal). SNN107083.

<4> Simmonds C., 2011, Archaeological Trial Trench Evaluation on Land at Overstone Leys, Overstone, Northamptonshire Phase 2, p.32 (checked) (Report). SNN107939.

<5> Fairclough, J, 2019, Geophysical survey and archaeological trial trench evaluation on land at Overstone Farm, Sywell Road, Overstone, Northamptonshire, April 2019 (Report). SNN112232.

<6> Crank, N. (Editor), 2020, South Midlands Archaeology (50), p. 87 (Journal). SNN112426.

Record last edited

Apr 15 2021 4:16PM