Monument record 4856 - Late Iron Age/Romano-British settlement, Brackmills Point

A large and complex settlement spanning the late Iron Age and Romano-British periods. The earliest feature was a pit alignment. Later there was a complex of enclosures and boundary ditches as well as timber and stone-built roundhouses, substantial rectangular stone-built structures, burials, pottery kilns and a drying oven.

{2} Trial trench excavation was undertaken. There was evidence of middle Iron Age settlement in the higher, southern part of the site, with a series of small sub-circular enclosures, initially recorded as geophysical anomalies. In addition, further pits and ditches containing Iron Age pottery, animal bone and fragments of oven or hearth furniture were present. Settlement activity appears to continue into the late Iron Age/early Roman period, again focused on the high ground overlooking the River Nene. The activity continues into the Roman period proper, with some evidence that it became more extensive in the late Roman period. A length of stone-built wall footing was present in one of the trenches and is almost certainly Roman in date. Whether this formed part of a building or some other structure was not clear


{3} An archaeological topographic survey and excavation revealed a large and complex series of of archaeological features indicative of a multi-period settlement site spanning the late Iron Age to late Roman periods was present on the site. The site had been first identified during geophysical survey and trial trench evaluation. A series of enclosures and boundary ditches were present on site as well as pit groups, timber and stone-built roundhouses, substantial rectangular stone-built structures, burials, pottery kilns and a drying oven. A large artefactual assemblage was recovered which comprised pottery, animal bone, environmental remains, ceramic and stone building material as well as coins and other metal artefacts. The site shows some evidence of earlier prehistoric activity in the form of a linear pit alignment, and early medieval activity as represented by a single sunken featured building though settlement seems to have largely ceased by the end of the 4th century AD.


{5, 6} The earliest features excavated on site comprised a 112m long section of pit alignment aligned north-east to south-west, parallel to the River Nene. The pits had gradually silted up and there only a very small amount of pottery in the fills, broadly dated to the Iron Age. Subsequently, in the late Iron Age, a large D-shaped enclosure was created with a central roundhouse with a number of sub-circular/C-shaped enclosures to the south-west. Some of the pits associated with this phase contained unusual deposits including one which contained a fully articulated human foot. Two crouched inhumations may date to this period.

Settlement in the early Roman consituted replacement of the earlier enclosures by larger rectilinear/field systems and linear boundaries, which extended downslope. At least one of the C-shaped enclosures was re-defined. An early Roman kiln with a possible adjacent structure were present within the enclosure. Two others were present immediately to the north-east. A stone-built roundhouse was also dated to this phase. It was located to the south of the main excavation area and was cleaned and recorded and then covered. A burial was cut into the western wall of the building. To the north was an area of limestone that may have been a yard. In the southern part of the excavation was a section of road, c120m long; most had been destroyed by a later pond/quarry. At the eastern end of the road, stone kerbing and a surface survived. It appeared to have gone out use by the late 1st to 2nd century AD.

In the later Roman period, the focus of settlement seems to have shifted downslope to the north-west. The principal features were a number of number of rectangular stone buildings, one of which survived particularly well. At least another three further buildings and a stone platform for a possible timber structure were also identified. A great deal of domestic material was recovered from the main building and associated features. A poorly preserved corn dryer was also identified and in the same area were a number of other stone-built features that could not be identified. A total of 17 inhumations were excavated at the northern edge of Areas 1, 2, and 3. Thirteen of the 17 burials were located in a roughly north-east to south-west linear band forming an unenclosed cemetery. All were broadly contemporary and are dated to the latter half of the Roman period. Most were supine, three were prone.

The only feature dating to the Saxon period was a sunken-featured building.

<1> Prestidge, O.J., 2013, Geophysical Survey Report: Project Gulliver, Brackmills Point, Northampton (Report). SNN109464.

<2> Hughes, V., 2014, Land East of Brackmills, Northampton: Archaeological Evaluation Report, p.12 (checked) (Report). SNN109449.

<3> Crank, N. (Editor), 2020, South Midlands Archaeology (50), p. 86 (Journal). SNN112426.

<4> Wolframm-Murray, Y, 2021, Archaeology in Northamptonshire 2019, p. 469 (Note). SNN113025.

<5> Chinnock, C, 2019, Archaeological excavation on land at Brackmills Point – Decathlon, Brackmills, Northampton, Northamptonshire, January to September 2017: Assessment report and updated project design (Report). SNN113102.

<6> Chinnock, C, 2023, An Iron Age settlement and Roman complex farmstead at Brackmills, Northampton (Book). SNN115953.

<7> Chinnock, C, 2022, Archaeological excavation on land at Brackmills Point- Decathlon, Brackmills, Northampton, Northamptonshire, January-September 2017 (Report). SNN115364.

Record last edited

Feb 1 2024 2:29PM