Monument record 3734 - Probable mid-late Iron Age settlement, south-east of Grange Farm

Geophysical survey and trial trench excavation identified mid-late Iron Age settlement including a small ditched enclosure, pits and a possible kiln/hearth. The settlement may be associated with further features to the west, which were identified as cropmarks but which may have been destroyed by the farmbuildings.

{2} Archaeological trial trench excavation was undertaken ahead of the Northampton Western Relief Road development. Trenches were excavated south-east of Grange Farm to test geophysical anomalies. The trenches confirmed the presence of significant archaeological deposits where predicted, but also in greater density and complexity than suggested by the geophysical survey. The area of greatest complexity lay in Trenches 72 and 73 where a series of intercutting ditches and pits yielded middle-late Iron Age pottery. Heat-affected deposits in Trench 65 may be the remains of a kiln/hearth, but the nature of the feature could not be determined during this phase. A curving ditch in Trench 84 truncated the pit alignment (4890/0/2) and contained middle Iron Age pottery.

{4} Excavation of the north-eastern half of the known extent of the settlement ahead of the construction of the North-West Relief Road. The earliest features comprised a pit containing sherds of an early Bronze Age Collared Urn and a large sherd of early to middle Neolithic pottery was found in a later, Iron Age pit. The Iron Age settlement comprised at least two phases of enclosures and two roundhouses and appeared to be bounded to the north-east and north-west by boundary ditches. Two pits contained calcined human bone and may be cremation burials; one had evidence of burning in its base. The settlement was probably in use between the early and middle Iron Age. A single pit containing Roman pottery and a single pit containing a carinated jar of probable early Saxon date were found in this area.

<1> Harrison, D, 2018, Northampton Western Relief Road, Northamptonshire: Geophysical Survey (Report). SNN112236.

<2> Lawrence, S and Fellingham, A, 2019, Northampton North-west Relief Road: Archaeological Evaluation Report (Report). SNN112235.

<3> Crank, N. (Editor), 2020, South Midlands Archaeology (50), p. 91 (Journal). SNN112426.

<4> Simmonds, A, Teague, S, and Stafford, E, 2025, Northampton North-West Relief Road, Northamptonshire: Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design, Areas C and D (Report). SNN116982.

Record last edited

Jan 30 2026 12:38PM