Monument record 3544 - Late prehistoric/Romano-British activity

The corner of a probable enclosure was identified during archaeological investigation. The ditch was undated, but a small group of adjacent pits contained Roman pottery

{1} A linear ditch was observed in three trenches. It was up to 2.07m wide and 0.90m deep. No finds were retrieved from any of the excavated sections. The large ditch may be part of a prehistoric or Roman enclosure or field system.

{2} Part of an undated enclosure and several pits containing Romano-British pottery were recorded during a watching brief on land to the west of Ashton Road. The ditch, previously identified during evaluation, probably defined the south-eastern corner of an enclosure that was at least 65m long and 15m wide. The ditch was up to 1.75m wide and 0.70m deep. No finds, apart from a single flint flake, were found in the ditch fill, but a group of small pits lying just to the south produced Roman pottery. A series of five pits were located c5m beyond the enclosure ditch. Four of the pits were in a broad linear alignment. Roman pottery dating to the 1st and 2nd centuries AD was found in three of the pits and an iron nail in one of them. The pits were no more than 1.90m long, 1.2m wide and 0.46m deep. One of the pits had a distinctive ash and charcoal rich upper fill.

<1> Chinnock C., 2015, Trial trench evaluation on land at Ashton Road, Roade, Northamptonshire, April-May 2015 (Report). SNN110207.

<2> Jarvis, L, and Sharman, T., 2015, Archaeological observation, investigation, recording and analysis on land at Ashton Road, Roade, Northamptonshire, July and October 2015 (Report). SNN110206.

<3> Horne, B (editor), 2016, South Midlands Archaeology (46), p. 45 (Journal). SNN111326.

Record last edited

Feb 25 2025 7:48PM