Monument record 1641/14 - Possible Iron Age & Early Romano-British Enclosed Farmstead

In the south-western quarter of the town is a large square ditched enclosure. The Roman street bends slightly southwards, as if to avoid the enclosure, suggesting it was an earlier feature but still in evidence when the road was established. Two roundhouse ring ditches and pits were identified in the interior.

{1} Romano-British Enclosure (Morphed Aerial Archaeology Interpretation). Crop/soilmark: Good quality photography.

{2} In the south-western quarter of the town is a large square ditched enclosure, measuring c 35m x 37m, with rounded corners and a possible narrow entrance near the south-east corner. The Roman street bends slightly southwards, as if to avoid the enclosure, suggesting it was an earlier feature but still in evidence when the road was established. In the eastern half of the enclosure a curving ditch may connect with others outside the enclosure, suggesting that the enclosure itself may have replaced earlier occupation. The circular ring ditches of two possible roundhouses lie on the western side of the interior, along with scattered pits and a row of at least five small pits or postholes, less than 1m in diameter, which were detected by the high resolution of the survey. The presence of the roundhouse ring ditches suggest that the enclosure probably had an origin in the Iron Age, although it does appear to have been retained into the early life of the Roman town. A rectangular Roman stone building appears to overlie the ditch forming the southern arm of the enclosure.
Very little of the pre-Roman landscape can be identified with certainty from the geophysical survey, but the characteristic shape of middle to late Iron Age enclosed farmsteads is the exception. Within the area of the geophysical survey two examples may be present, one underlying the later Roman town and a second some 500-600m to the east. Both comprise the characteristic sub-square enclosure within which it is possible to identify elements of circular structures (roundhouses) and animal pens.
The regularity of spacing between farmsteads has been recognised previously in the valley floor at Wollaston, where a wide floodplain existed and the farmsteads were positioned at the limit of seasonal flooding (Ian Meadows pers comm). At Irchester, no such wide floodplain existed and therefore a position on the valley side would ensure freedom from flooding, whilst enabling access to exploit the floodplain as well as the other areas. With regard to the spacing between the farms, it would suggest that here, as at Wollaston, the individual holdings may have extended about 250m to either side of the farm, although it is not possible to identify how extensive each holding was from the river up onto the drier land. This spatial density of the Iron Age farms accords well with Caesar’s description of the pre-Roman landscape being densely studded with farms, and the degree of regularity seen locally might even suggest some degree of central control or planning. The linear arrangement of Iron Age farms along the valley side might be part of a more extensive rural community, which constituted a pre-Roman ‘settlement’ that preceded Irchester.

<1> Northamptonshire SMR Collection of Aerial Photographs, Used with NMR & CUCAP collections (Photographs). SNN104822.

<2> Butler A.; Meadows I.; Fisher I., 2010, Archaeological Geophysical Survey at Chester Farm, Irchester, Northamptonshire, p.6+13 Fig.4 (checked) (Report). SNN107215.

Record last edited

Jun 7 2021 3:29PM