Monument record 3984/0/1 - Early Roman rectilinear enclosure, east of Desborough Road

Archaeological investigation identified part of a late Iron Age/early Roman enclosure. Internal features included occasional pits and an isolated posthole.

{1} Immediately east of Desborough Road, opposite the health centre, the survey has detected a set of linear anomalies representing a substantial part of a rectilinear ditched enclosure. Within this there are two small positive anomalies which could represent pits or small burnt features.

{2} The Roman activity was focussed at the eastern end of the site, and in the fields beyond the Desborough Road. An irregular enclosure identified by the geophysical survey was confirmed by trial trenching. The enclosure ditch seen in Trenches 76 and 77, was 0.94-2.05m wide by 0.46-0.79m deep, U-shaped to the south and east, but becoming more steeply sided to the west, where [7709] cut through an earlier, steeply V-shaped gully cut on the same alignment. Pottery from the fills dated to the mid-1st century AD. Other finds included animal bone, brick and tile fragments.

Within the enclosure three sub-circular pits were exposed, all of which had ash- and charcoal-rich fills containing mid-1st century AD Roman pottery and animal bone. Pit [7605] had gently curving sides with a broad base, 1.60m wide 0.40m deep. Pit [7719] had a similar profile, 1.53m wide by 0.89m deep. The upper fill consisted of a distinct dumped layer of ironstone not local to the area. Samples from fills produced charred cereal grain and weed seeds. Pit [7714] was steep sided with a flat base, 1.98m wide by 0.41m deep.

{3} Archaeological excavation was undertaken prior to development. The features identified during the preceding evaluation were investigated in excavation Area 5 and broadly confirmed the results of the evaluation by examining part of an enclosure that was at 53m long and 42m wide. No entrance was identified within the area of excavation and only a few internal features, including a few pits and a single posthole.

<1> Walford, J., 2015, Archaeological geophysical survey of land north of Rothwell, Northamptonshire October 2015 (Report). SNN110416.

<2> Jarvis, A., 2015, Trial trench evaluation north of Rothwell, Northamptonshire October 2015, p. 15 (Report). SNN110415.

<3> Capardoni, M, Koziminski, M, and Leslie, I, 2022, Land at Rothwell North, Rothwell, Northamptonshire: Post-fieldwork assessment and updated project design for analysis, publication and archiving (Report). SNN117209.

Record last edited

Sep 4 2026 12:47PM