Monument record 3984/0/2 - Late Iron Age/early Roman enclosure, north-east of Bedgebury View

Archaeological investigation identified part of an enclosure and two trackways. Pits and postholes were identified within the enclosure. Domestic refuse, including pottery and animal bone, was found in the features.

{1} Part of another rectilinear enclosure has been detected c 200m further north, but it is less clearly defined and its southern edge appears to be disrupted by a modern field drain. It is likely that both of these enclosures are of Iron Age or Roman date, and thus broadly contemporary with the main site in the field to the west.

{2} An additional rectangular enclosure may have been situated in the north-east corner of the site, sampled in Trenches 68 and 69. Ditch [6806] was V-shaped with eroded upper edges, aligned north-west by south-east. It was 1.28m wide by 0.53m deep. Ditch [6908] was aligned north-east by south-west, U-shaped with a flat base 1.90m wide by 0.60m deep. It was recut as [6905], which was shallower with a V-shaped profile 0.90m wide by 0.20m deep. All three ditches contained Roman pottery of 1st-century AD date, and animal bone. It is possible that these ditches form a further enclosure partly lying outside the boundaries of the site, although the geophysical survey is not conclusive.

{3} Archaeological excavation was undertaken prior to development. This area of activity was identified within excavation Area 4 and included part of an enclosure covering an area of at least c48m by 46m with a east-facing entrance continuing beyond the area of excavation to the south-west. Inside the enclosure were scattered pits and postholes. To the north and south were two trackways aligned SW-NE.

<1> Walford, J., 2015, Archaeological geophysical survey of land north of Rothwell, Northamptonshire October 2015, p. 4 (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 12:06PM