Monument record 5130/1/6 - 2nd -3rd century AD Roman settlement, Upton

A series of broadly rectilinear enclosures on a north-east to south-west alignment. A well and a corndrying kiln were recorded within one of the enclosures

{1} In the southern part of the excavated area and into the watching brief area there was a more regular system of small, rectangular enclosures. In the south-west corner of the excavated area, the northern, 1216, and eastern, 1312, arms of a sub-square enclosure produced quantities of pottery. The primary fill included the base of a Samian dish with a stamp of ROPPVOFF (Roppus) of Les Martres-de-Veyre, in the
Auvergne region of central France, dated to the 2nd century. Large quantities of pottery recovered from the upper fills of the ditch were generally dated to the late 2nd and 3rd centuries.

{2} Phase 2.2: expansion of the Romano-British settlement, C2nd AD.
A series of broadly rectilinear enclosures and boundaries were constructed on a north-east to south-west alignment, these marking the disuse of the earlier enclosures to the south-west. The area now formed part of a planned, unified system of enclosures and boundaries on the middle terrace of the south-facing slope. 57% of the contexts which contained pottery have been dated to the C2nd AD. This strongly suggests that this C2nd phase of expansion and redevelopment represents the main period of settlement use when activity was flourishing.
The unifying element of the landscape in this phase is a boundary aligned south-west to north-east. It is consistently dated to the C2nd AD and functions variously as a boundary and part of a series of rectilinear enclosures. The boundary was subsequently recut on the same lines, although in Area 2 it was partially segmented possibly to accommodate new access points in the enclosures.
In Area 2 Enclosures 12 and 13 were constructed to the north of the main boundary, and formed a continuation of activity recorded in the earlier excavations to the east. As the enclosure developed there was some evidence for internal sub-division or funnelling from the enclosures to the east. A small number of pits were associated with the enclosures, although no structures were recorded. A stone and wood-lined well and a T-shaped corndryer or malting kiln were constructed.

<1> Walker C.; Maull A., 2010, Excavation of Iron Age and Roman Settlement at Upton, Northampton September - December, 2000, p. 15-16 (Report). SNN107504.

<2> Muldowney L., 2012, Archaeological Excavation at Sites F & G, Weedon Road, Upton, Northamptonshire: Assessment Report and Updated Project Design, p.19-27 Fig.10 (checked) (Report). SNN109851.

<3> Walker, C. & Maull, A., 2010, Iron Age and Roman Settlement at Upton, Northampton (Article). SNN107490.

Record last edited

Nov 19 2020 9:40AM