Monument record 6895 - Probable Iron Age and Roman settlement

Iron Age and Roman features were identified during an evaluation Summary from record 6895/0/1: Group of pits dated to the mid-late Iron Age Summary from record 6895/0/2: A substantial ditch aligned north-west to south-east and at least 100m long. Roman pottery dating from the late 1st to the 3rd century AD was found in the ditch fills. Early-middle Saxon pottery was found in the upper fill

{1} Archaeological trial trench excavation was undertaken. The four Iron-Age pits, identified in Trenches 8 and 23 are the earliest evidence of occupation. A single pit was identified in Trench 8 and the other three in Trench 23, and all four pits contained middle to late Iron Age pottery. The pits in the two trenches were approximately 16m apart, and it can be surmised that they were part of a group of pits extending between the two trenches and possibly to the north and south also.

The large Roman ditch was located in Trenches 11, 12 and 15, approximately 100m long, aligned in a north-west to the south-east direction, following the slope of the hill. The width of the ditch was 6m in Trenches 11 and 12 diminishing to 3.7m in Trench 15. Excavated in trench 11 only, the ditch was shown to be 6m wide and 1.0m in depth, with gently sloping sides. The ditch was not identified in any of the trenches to the north-west or south-west of the Trenches 12 and 15, which suggests it may have changed direction.

There was early-middle Saxon pottery in the upper fill suggesting the ditch was still a feature in the landscape during this period.

<1> Morris S., 2003, Land off Wharf Road, Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Evaluation December 2002, (checked) (Report). SNN102438.

Record last edited

Jun 22 2021 4:04PM