Monument record 1563/1 - Late Iron Age Settlement, Monksmoor Farm

Archaeological investigations identified a sub-square ditched enclosure defined as a possible Wootton Hill type enclosure. The only internal feature was a single ring gully.

{1} Site D is located in Field 6. it comprises a rectangular ditched enclosure which measures approximately 40m from north to south by at least 45m east to west. Its eastern edge lies close to a sewer pipe and is obscured by the resultant magnetic halo. Within the enclosure there is a penannular anomaly, measuring c 10m across, which indicates the site of a roundhouse with an eastward facing entrance;

{2} Trenches 46 and 47 were positioned across the eastern part of a rectangular-shaped enclosure; the ditch was between 2.6-4.0m wide and 0.6-0.7m deep with shallow edges and rounded base. Pottery from the fills probably dated to the late Iron Age/early Roman period. This enclosure may represent subsidiary occupation to that to the west or livestock management. In Trench 47, c5m to the south of the enclosure ditch, there was a east to west aligned ditch, 1.15m wide and 0.20m deep. This was the northern arc of a ring ditch located in the northern part of the enclosure. It might have been a small stock pen or a round house.

{3} Archaeological excavation was undertaken in 2014-15. The enclosure measured c50mx40m with an east-facing entranceway. Only one ditch terminal lay within the excavation area, but two large pits adjacent to it may have held gate posts. The ditch was up to 3.80m wide and 2.20m deep and there was evidence that there had been a substantial internal bank; in one section remnants of a stone revetment were found in the upper fill. Only 19 sherds of undiagnostic pottery were found in the ditch fills, although some have scored decoration. The enclosure may have been of the 'Wootton Hill type', a defended type of enclosure defined by substantial ditches and banks.
Only a single ring gully lay within the enclosure; there were no other internal features. The gully, which had been re-cut at least once, was 9m in diameter with an east-facing entrance. 120 sherds of pottery were found.

<1> Walker C.; Walford J., 2012, An Archaeological Evaluation of Land at Monksmoor Farm, Daventry, Northamptonshire November 2012, p. 7-8 (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, p. 20-23 (Monograph). SNN111482.

Record last edited

Feb 25 2025 6:57PM