Monument record 727/0/134 - Post medieval pit with evidence of possible horn working

A large pit with multiple phases of tipping and a deposit of horn cores with butchery marks

{1} A large pit was truncated by later landscaping works. There were two surviving deposits within the feature. The basal layer was grey silty clay containing frequent charcoal flecks. This layer was overlain dirty brownish-orange gritty sand which contained a large dump of post-medieval material that included pottery, a couple of oyster shells, a copper-alloy nail and 41 individual cattle horn cores, a sample of which was retained. Whilst the layer of fill was fairly consistent in texture, its form appeared to show a series of lenses that may represent sequential tip lines in quick succession with the main concentration of cattle horn to the south-west end.

{2} Archaeological observation of excavation of building foundations. Further horn cores were recovered from a layer dating to the 17th-20th centuries. Some of the pottery was badly abraded suggesting that the material as a whole had been moved about and redeposited. Only a single tanner in the vicinity at 8 Watling Street in the later 18th century. In 1828 the plot was sold, which included a tanning yard. No tanners or tawyers were recorded after this time. The plot, which lies behind an inn, lies between two streams and it is suggested that this material was brought in to level up the site.

<1> Meadows, A., 2015, Trial trench evaluation of land at Sun Yard, Watling Street, Towcester, Northamptonshire July 2015, checked (Report). SNN110399.

<2> Wolframm-Murray Y., 2017, Archaeological observation, investigation, recording, analysis and reporting at Sun Yard, Watling Street, Towcester, Northamptonshire, 2017 (Report). SNN111127.

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

<4> Crank, N. (Editor), 2018, South Midlands Archaeology (48), p. 68 (Journal). SNN111393.

Record last edited

Mar 15 2019 2:18PM