Monument record 6893/0/1 - Prehistoric pit alignment

Pit alignment, at least 160m long and comprising at least 40 pits, aligned approximately north to south

{1} At the western end of the settlement, south-east of the Red Lion truckstop, a closely spaced chain of weak positive anomalies marks the course of a pit alignment. This feature is at least 160m long, but its southern terminal cannot be identified as the anomalies become progressively weaker and less distinct as they head southwards towards the Nene floodplain.

{2} At least 40 pits, aligned north-west by south-east along the western edge of a series of ditched enclosures. To the south of the enclosures, the alignment changed direction to a north-south alignment. Two pits were excavated in different trenches, one was sub-circular the other was rectangular. Both contained pottery dating to the late Iron Age/early Roman period, indicating that the pits remained open for a significant period of time subsequent to excavation.

<1> Walford, J., 2015, Archaeological geophysical survey of the proposed Midway Park development site at M1, Junction 16 Northamptonshire April to May 2015, p.3 (Report). SNN110360.

<2> Finn, C. And Muldowney, M., 2015, Archaeological evaluation at Midway J16, Northamptonshire June to August 2015, p.8 (Report). SNN110359.

<3> Simmonds, A, 2019, M1dway J16, Northamptonshire: Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design (Report). SNN112424.

<4> Simmonds, A and Lawrence, S, 2022, Harpole: The landscape of a Roman villa at Panattoni Park (Monograph). SNN113679.

<5> Oxford Archaeology (South), 2023, Digital Archive from an Archaeological Excavation and Watching Brief at M1 Dway Junction 16, Weedon Road, Harpole, West Northamptonshire 2017-2018, https://doi.org/10.5284/1105610 (Digital archive). SNN115698.

Record last edited

Nov 30 2023 2:05PM