Monument record 828/0/2 - Late Iron Age-Roman settlement, Glassthorpe Road

Late Iron Age and early Roman activity comprised the construction and use of ditched enclosures and also small-scale gravel quarrying. The main activity occurred in the late 2nd century through to the late 3rd to 4th centuries. A working area defined by a yard surface and a possible oven structure lay beyond the most northerly ditch. No domestic dwellings were evident; these may lie outside the area of excavation. The activity is likely to be linked to the 'ladder-enclosure' system on the north side of the M1.

{1} Two of the ditches had V-shaped sloping sides and narrow bases, which are common amongst Roman drainage systems. The fills seem likely to have accumulated gradually over an extended period of time. There were no indications of dumping and the few finds are likely to have been casual losses or material from manuring scatters washed into the features. One of the ditches was cut by a slightly later Roman ditch.

{3} Archaeological excavation as part of mitigation works prior to the construction of the A45 link road undertaken as community excavation with MOLA staff working alongside members of the Community Landscape Archaeology Survey project (CLASP). The earliest features were two isolated pits which contained a number of flint flakes, including an end scraper. The flint assemblage is generally Neolithic, with a late Neolithic/early Bronze Age component. In the late Iron Age a possible quarry pit was dug, which was subsequently cut by a segmented ditch aligned north-south. The ditch formed part of a much larger enclosure, most of which lay beyond the area of excavation. In the 1st-2nd century AD it was replaced by another sub-rectangular enclosure, which in turn was replaced in the later 2nd century AD by a series of ditches aligned north-east to south-west, possibly a shifting boundary. The final phase of occupation, in the 3rd-4th century AD were two converging boundary ditches, with an oven and stone surface on the north side.
Observation of a small area on the east side of Glassthorpe Road was undertaken to test the hypothesis that the road followed an ancient alignment. Evidence of an earlier track was identified, although it remained undated.

<1> Brown, J., 2014, Archaeological geophysical survey and trial trench evaluation of the A45 Northampton to Daventry Link Road, Northamptonshire, 2013-2014, checked (Report). SNN110061.

<2> Spurr, G., 2015, Flore and Weedon Bec bypass, Northamptonshire, Geoarchaeological post-excavation assessment (Report). SNN111583.

<3> Morris, S., 2018, Archaeological mitigation along the route of the A45 Northampton to Daventry Link Road Northamptonshire September 2015 to January 2017: Assessment Report and Updated Project Design (Report). SNN111582.

Record last edited

Jul 30 2019 12:26PM