Monument record 4415/1 - Probable Romano-British field system, west of Dadford Road

Archaeological investigation prior to development identified two Roman ditches likely to represent field/enclosure boundaries on the periphery of settlement activity. A concentration of pottery in one of the ditches probably represents a single episode of rubbish disposal. Charred plant remains, comprising cereal grains, indicate that crop processing was also taking place in the vicinity.

{1} Trial trenching was completed in 2020. The only feature of archaeological significance was a ditch containing a substantial amount of Roman pottery; it was identified in two of the trenches. The assemblage comprised 101 sherds of Roman pottery, weighing 2.426kg and recovered from a single ditch fill; it appeared to date to the 3rd century AD.

{2} Archaeological excavation was targeted on the area where the ditch had been identified during the earlier evaluation. The only archaeological features were two ditches. One of the ditches, the one also identified by the earlier evaluation, forms the corner of a boundary which presumably defines at least a partially enclosed area to the north. It produced thirty-three sherds of Roman pottery, almost all of which were recovered from near the surface of a c4m-long darker, charcoal-rich deposit visible within the top of the ditch. This darker deposit also coincides with the section excavated within the trench from which the substantial amount of pottery was recovered and probaby represents a single episode of rubbish disposal. Charred cereal grain was also recovered from this deposit. The second ditch produced no finds, but was on the same alignment and likely to be contemporary.

<1> Hewitt, G, 2020, Archaeological Trial Trench Evaluation on land at Dadford Road, Silverstone, Northamptonshire (Report). SNN112458.

<2> Palombelli, M & Turner, I, 2021, Land at Dadford Road, Silverstone, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Investigation, Recording, Analysis and Publication (Report). SNN112457.

<3> Albion Archaeology, 2024, Digital Data from an Archaeological Excavation at Dadford Road, Silverstone, Northamptonshire 2020, https://doi.org/10.5284/1117243 (Digital archive). SNN116197.

Record last edited

Mar 8 2024 2:09PM