Monument record 3957/4 - Roman ironstone workings and probable agricultural buildings

Road scraping identified multiple Romano-British pits which were probably quarries but their infill contained much domestic refuse dating to late C1st AD. One pit contained iron slag & furnace debris. A later structure with a pebble & mortar floor and limestone base probably represents a C2nd threshing floor and a six-post structure found adjacent is possibly a granary.

{1} Area of multiple quarry pits. Road scraping exposed remains of 15 pits which had been backfilled largely in late C1st-early C2nd AD; pits mostly sub-rectangular or rounded in shape but size & depth varied; pottery shows activity confined to relatively short period; no silting found in bottom of pits; fills appeared to derive mainly from upcast from new excavations; occurrence of sherds of single vessels in fill also suggests deliberate backfilling; several pits also contained ash which had formed in-situ as indicated by scorching of underlying surfaces; animal bones & shell refuse also within pit fills; pit 15 contained a residual early Coritanian coin; deliberate discarding of sandstone through which pits were cut suggests selection of material presumably removing ferriferous nodules for conversion into iron.
Number of pits revealed (nos.26-30) which were essentially similar to those in Area 1; stratigraphy & finds evidence indicates that most were opened as quarries during a short period at turn of C1st-C2nd AD; description of largest pit suggesting method of quarrying. Evidence for iron smelting is provided indirectly by occurrence of tap-slag & fragments of furnace lining within thick deposit of black ash dumped in pit 19.
Several pits (nos.18 & 20 & 21) were located elsewhere in branch road and further pits (nos. 22-25) were exposed during hand-excavation of continuous trench along rear building line of dwellings 33-39 Kipling Road.

A probable barn comprised a roughly rectangular metalled floor 9.15m x up to 3.65m; occupied almost entire hollow left by backfilling of earlier quarry; badly corroded coin of early C2nd AD at latest was incorporated into creamy mortar binding of surface; also contained small pieces of limestone & gravel pebbles; mixture was laid on bedding of larger rubbly limestone fragments which in turn was laid on a thin layer of sand above quarry pit fill; floor had subsided into quarry at its south-east corner & had subsequently been renewed with pebbles & limestone set into a concrete mixture laid directly on top of earlier floor; floors do not appear to have been covered by any protective structure; this probably excluded their use for winnowing but may have been suitable as threshing floors. Series of postholes lay to south-west of possible threshing floor & at right-angles to its main axis; may have belonged to an associated timber structure possibly a granary; 5 definite post-settings & probable 6th were located in 2 parallel rows adjacent to edge of roadway cut where they could have formed part of a larger structural grouping; rows at least 5.5m long & spaced c.1.5m apart; packing stones indicate timbers up to 280mm wide were used.

Road scraping exposed remains of 2 pits which contained C3rd pottery

{2} Romano-British pits were probably quarries but their infill contained much domestic refuse dating to late C1st AD; finds included C1st-2nd pot sherds & bronze pin & bone pins & bronze fibulae & a glass melon bead & glass bottle & 13 Romano-British coins & iron slag & furnace debris & a mid C1st BC Coritanian Iron Age coin. One pit contained iron slag & furnace debris
An infilled quarry pit was covered with a pebble & mortar floor with a limestone base & probably represents a C2nd threshing floor; Six-post structure found adjacent is possibly a granary;

{4} Plan of trial holes


{11}The location of much of the settlement on a spur of Northampton sand above Gutter Beck would tend to suggest that Kettering may not have great potential for non-carbonised botanical remains but earlier observations have noted numerous wells (3957/0/3, 3957/0/13, 3957/0/21, 3957/0/27) at least one of which contained waterlogged shoes and wood (3957/0/15). Unfortunately none of this information is recorded in sufficient detail to help better understand agricultural or environmental issues.

<1> Dix, B., 1986-7, The Roman Settlement at Kettering, Northants: Excavations at Kipling Road, 1968 and 1971, p95-108 (Article). SNN39530.

<2> Dix B.N., Roman Discoveries at Kettering, (unchecked) (Manuscript). SNN30224.

<3> DIX B N, DIX B N RECORD CARDS, (unchecked) (Notes). SNN45109.

<4> Kettering Museum Records, (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN28658.

<5> Ordnance Survey, 1950s/1960s, Ordnance Survey Record Cards, SP88SE1 (unchecked) (Index). SNN443.

<6> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1979, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.102 (unchecked) (Series). SNN77380.

<7> Rowley R.T.; Fowler W.J. (Editors), 1972, CBA Group 9 Newsletter: South Midlands Archaeology (2), 14 (unchecked) (Newsletter). SNN10022.

<8> Brown, A E (ed), 1972, Northamptonshire Archaeology, 21 (Journal). SNN25623.

<9> 1972, Britannia, 3/359 (Journal). SNN47361.

<10> 1972, Archaeological Excavations (Various Years), p.21 (unchecked) (Series). SNN55389.

<11> Taylor, J., 2000, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Kettering (Roman), Section 3.6 Land Use (Digital archive). SNN100751.

<12> Brown A.E. (Ed.), 1969, Archaeology in Northamptonshire 1967/68 (Roman), 14 (unchecked) (Article). SNN58198.

<13> 1998, Monuments Protection Programme: Bloomery Iron Industry (Provisional Step 2 Shortlist), 25 (checked) (Catalogue). SNN46996.

<14> Brown, A.E. (Ed.), 1970, Archaeology in Northamptonshire 1969 (Roman), 9 (unchecked) (Article). SNN100535.

<15> DIX B N, 1970, Untitled Source, (unchecked) (Interim Report). SNN44376.

<16> DIX B N, DIX B N RECORD CARDS, (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN30235.

Record last edited

Feb 24 2023 4:02PM