Monument record 5584/0/1 - Probable Prehistoric Stone Feature & Ditches, A14 road corridor

A watching brief undertaken in 1989 identified a possible prehistoric hearth and ditches.

{1} Watching brief September 1989, by Mark Holmes. Limestone and ironstone fragments in an oval setting 6m x 4m; the stones were pitched in a burnt area at the centre of the feature. The feature overlays two ditches, with a third ditch to the north post dating the burnt stones. A possible Bronze Age urn was recovered, other pottery probably dated to the Iron Age.

{3} A close-set, roughly oval concentration of limestone and ironstone fragments c.6m x 4m at SP97357809. It contained pitched stones at its western end. A rectangular area of dark material in the centre of the feature had possibly resulted from burning. Removal of stones at the western end of the feature exposed parts of two possible ditches aligned north-west to south-east. A separate broadly U-shaped ditch 0.22m deep lay to the nortrh beyond the edge of the stones and appeared to be later stratigraphically. Prehistoric pottery was recovered amongst and beneath the stone feature, but in the absence of certain evidence for funerary usage or for the presence of contemporary enclosing ditches the function of the feature remains uncertain.

<1> CADMAN G.E., 1990, SMR Report Form, (checked) (SMR Report Form). SNN50232.

<2> Dix B., 1992, Recent Work in Northamptonshire Archaeology, p.121 (checked) (Article). SNN104441.

<3> Soden I.; Dix B., 1995, The M1-A1 Link Road in Northamptonshire: Archaeological Observation Along the A14, 1989-94, p.20+Fig.19 (checked) (Report). SNN73926.

<4> Pike A. (Editor), 1990, South Midlands Archaeology: CBA Group 9 Newsletter, p.40 (unchecked) (Journal). SNN39962.

Record last edited

Jun 21 2021 2:19PM