Monument record 6929/0/13 - Early Roman field boundaries, Monksmoor Farm

Elements of an early Roman field system have been identified during archaeological investigations at Monksmoor Farm prior to development. Remnants of enclosures defined by parallel ditches were recorded over a wide area

{1} Between sites C and D, there are several short positive linear anomalies which probably represent the most magnetic parts of an otherwise undetected network of boundary ditches. Their generally weak and disjointed appearance can perhaps be attributed to the 'habitation'effect, whereby the strongest contrasts in soil magnetism develop in areas of settlement, and little or no contrast develops in outlying field systems and other areas of slight human activity.

{2} In Trenches 50 and 56 there were remnants of ditches which may represent outfield boundaries. A single ditch in Trench 50 was aligned east to west, 0.84m wide and 0.40m deep. Sherds of late Iron Age-early Roman pottery were recovered from the fill. There were two gully terminals aligned north to south in Trench 57

<1> Walker C.; Walford J., 2012, An Archaeological Evaluation of Land at Monksmoor Farm, Daventry, Northamptonshire November 2012, p. 8 (Report). SNN109264.

<2> Burke, J, and Simmonds, C, 2014, Archaeological evaluation on land at the Northern extension, Monksmoor Farm, Daventry, Northamptonshire, March 2014, p. 16 (Report). SNN110042.

<3> Preece, T., 2019, Early Neolithic, Iron Age and Roman settlement at Monksmoor Farm, Daventry, Northamptonshire (Monograph). SNN111482.

Record last edited

Feb 25 2025 6:57PM