Monument record 1641/19 - Roman cemetery, Irchester Roman Town

Archaeological excavation of a service trench along the Lime Avenue revealed a 4th-century inhumation cemetery. Over 100 burials were identified, of which 75 were excavated.

{1} Archaeological evaluation along the main access road at Chester House Farm identified three grave cuts but were not excavated.

{2} Archaeological excavation of a service trench along the length of Lime Avenue identified an extensive 4th-century inhumation cemetery. Predating the cemetery were a series of ditches which formed a landscape of rectilinear enclosures orientated south-west to north-east, identified through geophysical surveys.

Over 100 hundred burials were identified along the narrow trench and, of these, 75 were excavated. Of these, 69 individuals were articulated and lying in an extended, supine position, although some were partially disturbed by later activity. All the burials were also interred lying on a north-east to south-west alignment, with the head at the west end of the grave, except for three burials. Grave furniture was observed in 36 of the 75 excavated graves in the form of a stone or occasionally ceramic tile construction and five had elaborate cist-type stone linings.

<1> Upson-Smith T., 2006, Archaeological Evaluation of Main Access at Chester House Farm (Module 6), Irchester, Northamptonshire (Report). SNN105698.

<2> Morris, S, 2017, Archaeological excavation at Lime Avenue, Chester Farm, Irchester, Northamptonshire, November 2014-May 2015 (Report). SNN111291.

<3> Crank, N. (Editor), 2018, South Midlands Archaeology (48), p. 64 (Journal). SNN111393.

Record last edited

Mar 15 2019 8:45AM