Monument record 5805 - Probable Roman settlement and industrial activity adjacent to Willow Brook

There have been significant finds of Roman pottery in this area. Geophysical survey has identified a series of ditches partially defining two adjacent plots of land. A series of probable pits were also identified. A series of intense anomalies may either represent contemporary industrial remains or more modern refuse. Summary from record 5805/0/2: A large quantity of pottery and slag were found during fieldwalking survey in 1991.

{1} SP 9910 9680. Fieldwalking in September 1991 by M.Porter. 6lb 6oz of Romano-British pottery was recovered and two patches of slag were noted bordering the stream and along the east side of the field.

{2} Geophysical survey has identified a series of positive anomalies in the same location as previously recorded Roman pottery finds. The anomalies appear to represent linear ditches defining two adjacent plots of land. Within the same area are a series of irregular postive anomalies, probably pits, and a series of intense, irregularly shaped magnetic anomalies that in most contexts would be interpreted as modern scrap metal, but in this location could arise from the remains of iron furnaces, iron roasting pits or other similar industrial features. There may also be the remains of a quarry.

<1> 1991, SMR REPORT FORM, (unchecked) (Note). SNN48943.

<2> John Walford, 2023, Archaeological geophysical survey alongside Willow Brook, King's Cliffe, Northamptonshire (Report). SNN115641.

<3> MOLA Northampton, 2023, Data from a Geophysical Survey at King's Cliffe, Willow Brook, Northamptonshire, February 2023 (Digital archive). SNN115685.

Record last edited

Feb 25 2025 7:05PM