Monument record 2425/0/27 - Palaeochannel of the River Nene, Nunn Mills

An auger survey undertaken during development of the university site established the location of a palaeochannel. A birch stake from the fill was radiocarbon dated to the 14th/15th centuries.

{1} A deposit model created during preliminary investigation suggested that the site extended over a series of gravel islands, masked by thick deposits of alluvium, and that there was a possible palaeochannel in the north-west corner of the site.

A hand auger survey carried out in the north-western corner of the site found evidence of palaeochannel fill in three of the transects. The dark greenish grey silty clay was between 0.23-2.17m thick. In one borehole grey clay palaeochannel fill was recorded between 2.00m-3.60m+ below present ground level, within which was a cut birch stake which returned a radiocarbon date of 1324–1441 cal AD. Sampling of this layer found environmental evidence comprising free-threshing wheat, oats, charred hazelnut shells and molluscs, and weed seeds indicating a woodland edge environment characterised by slow moving water and rough grassland.

<1> Cotswold Archaeology Ltd, 2017, Northampton Waterside Campus, Phases 1-3 Nunn Mills, Northampton: Programme of Archaeological Observation, Investigation & Recording (Report). SNN111263.

<2> Crank, N. (Editor), 2018, South Midlands Archaeology (48), p. 58 (Journal). SNN111393.

Record last edited

Apr 23 2025 6:54PM