Monument record 1086/0/1 - Middle Iron Age pits

A shallow pit which may have contained a dump of hearth waste was identified during trial excavation. Two further pits of the same date were recorded during subsequent excavation

{1} The pit had a basal deposit comprising almost entirely of small to medium-sized limestone fragments up to 0.10m deep; no dating evidence was recovered. Fill comprised dark brown sandy loam with frequent inclusions of ash, burnt flints and pebbles and moderate inclusions of ironstone, limestone fragments and was between 0.05m and 0.15m in depth; pottery dating to the Iron Age was recovered from this fill. The composition of the fill may suggest that it is a dump of waste material from a hearth or oven; the deposited fragments of limestone and the surrounding natural show no evidence of in situ burning/scorching.

{2} Two intercutting pits were found c6m to the south-east of the pit identified during the evaluation. Further sherds of broadly Middle Iron Age pottery were recovered. A single sherd from a carinated vessel may suggest a date in the early Middle Iron Age. A small fragment of calcined bone was recovered as well as four residual pieces of worked flint.

<1> Kidd, B., 2016, Trial trench evaluation on land at former Middle School, Kingsthorpe, Northampton, May 2016 (Report). SNN110722.

<2> Hewitt G., 2016, Archaeological observation, investigation and recording on land at the former Middle School, Kingsthorpe, Northampton, July 2016 (Report). SNN110907.

<3> Crank, N. (Editor), 2017, South Midlands Archaeology (47), p. 43 (Journal). SNN111362.

Record last edited

Apr 23 2025 7:18PM