Monument record 1888/1 - Site of probable Iron Age settlement

Geophysical survey and trial trench excavation have identified an area of later Iron Age occupation

{1} Geophysical survey found evidence of a probable small rectangular ditched enclosure, 16m long by 14m wide, with an attached, right-angled ditch leading south-west, and perhaps forming part of a larger enclosure extending to the west and north, at least partly beyond the study area. Several, more highly magnetised, anomalies lay adjacent on the north-west corner of the enclosure, possibly parts of ditch and other unidentified features running outside the survey area.
Further east, the features included a ditch aligned north-south, and a second ditch branched from this on a slightly curving north-eastward alignment. In the angle of these two ditches, an area measuring 60m x 60m , there were two D-shaped enclosures, some 20m long, abutting the long ditch. There were also slight indications of possible roundhouses.

{2} The features identified by the geophysical survey, including a small enclosure and several other ditches, were shown to be of later Iron Age date, along with several pits and possible postholes. Finds from this area consisted of pottery and animal bone. Although no definite structural features were excavated, the other finds and features are sufficient to suggest occupation of this area.

The pottery assemblage was typical of the middle/later Iron Age- there were no 'belgic' style vessels indicating a date somewhere between the mid 4th and early 1st century BC.

<1> Butler A., 2010, Archaeological geophysical survey on land east of Kettering, Northamptonshire, p. 3 (Report). SNN107967.

<2> Gilmour, N., 2012, Land east of Kettering, Phase A: Archaeological evaluation, 2012, p. 11- 16 (Report). SNN110464.

<3> Chris Manktelow, 2023, Archaeological geophysical survey on the 'Kettering Phase 2' pipeline route Warkton, Northamptonshire. (Report). SNN115836.

Record last edited

Jan 8 2024 11:40AM