Monument record 946 - Late Roman Enclosure and Boundary Ditches, north of the M1

Trial trench excavation in 2020 found evidence of several late Roman curvilinear and linear ditches representing peripheral settlement or agricultural activity

{1} Area 3 contained a series of Late Roman linear and curvilinear ditches representing peripheral activity associated with a nearby Roman settlement. The principal feature was curvilinear ditch 30000, a substantial ditch up to 1.48m wide and 0.76m deep which truncated earlier ditch 30003. Additional ditches included 30003, 30005 and 30009, forming a dispersed network of boundaries extending across the excavated area. A further substantial ditch terminus was identified during evaluation in Trench 2. The ditches appear to represent elements of a shifting agricultural and settlement landscape during the later Roman period, possibly defining paddocks, enclosures or land divisions on the periphery of a settlement focus located beyond the excavation limits. The absence of structural remains suggests that this area lay outside the core occupied settlement. Dating is provided primarily by pottery recovered from ditch fills, indicating activity extending into the 4th century AD. Small quantities of domestic refuse, including animal bone and an iron object, were recovered from some ditch fills. The remains demonstrate continued Late Roman activity along the pipeline corridor and indicate that settlement-related activity extended beyond the enclosure complex identified in Area 1.

<1> Emma Street, 2026, Harpole to Weedon, Anglian Water Pipeline – Phase 1: Archaeological Excavation Report (Report). SNN117199.

Record last edited

Aug 28 2026 9:31AM