Natural Feature record 5833/0/5 - Geological features

A series of features initially interpreted as ditches, but on subsequent invetigation found to be gological in origin

{1} A sequence of four undated ditches. Ditch 203 was orientated NE-SW, was over 6m long, 0.9m wide and 0.41m deep. It terminated close to the northern edge of E-W orientated ditch 208. This ditch was almost entirely truncated by later E-W ditch 212 but its profile was very similar to ditch 203. The two ditches had no stratigraphic relationship and may have been contemporary. Ditch 210 cut through ditch 203. It was orientated NNE-SSW and was slightly irregular in plan; it measured over 9m long by 0.55m wide by 0.19m deep. Ditch 212 was the latest in the sequence and cut ditch 210 and truncated all earlier features. It was orientated E-W and measured 0.97m wide by 0.28m deep. None of the ditches contained any finds but they were all sealed by the subsoil, suggesting that they are probably medieval or earlier in date.

The ditches are likely to be contemporaneous and may have formed part of a ditch system. Their location and morphology suggests that they may be associated with the prehistoric settlement seen on aerial photos to the north of Banbury Lane, although this has not been supported by artefactural evidence.

{2} A number of geological features were investigated, which superficially had the appearance of archaeological remains; they had been investigated during the evaluation and interpreted as a pre-medieval ditch system. Investigation of the features over a wider area demonstrated that they had a sinuous form with somewhat irregular edges.

<1> Muldowney, L., 2012, Land Off Banbury Lane, Middleton Cheney, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Evaluation, p.8-9 (checked) (Report). SNN109424.

<2> Joyce, S., 2015, Land off Banbury Lane, Middleton Cheney, Northamptonshire: Strip, map and sample, January 2015 (Report). SNN110607.

Record last edited

Jul 18 2019 9:31AM