Monument record 7030 - Iron Age and Romano-British settlement, Crick Covert Farm

Large-scale excavation was undertaken between 1997-8 ahead of the development of the eastern part of the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT East). It investigated an Iron Age village, or 'aggregated settlement' founded in the middle of the 1st millennium BC on the banks of a broad shallow stream, which at its height included over 40 distinct circular buildings. The settlement appears to have been abandoned at some in the 1st century AD, before a small Roman farmstead was established in the 2nd century AD. It was abandoned by or during the 3rd century AD, possibly linked to the final silting of the stream.

{1} Densely occupied middle to late Iron Age settlement comprising seveal adjoining groups of roundhouses and ancillary structures. Associated with an enclosure system. Direct continuity from the Iron Age to Roman settlement nearby was not established.

{2} Further excavations at the Long Dole Iron Age enclosure focused on areas subject to flooding in the previous year. They revealed further details of the enclosure system and some of the roundhouses and internal enclosures were re-examined. The remainder of this site will be preserved but otherwise there will be a watching brief during the initial phases of development.

{5} Plans of Trenches 1-7 in relation to geophysical survey results, as well as detailed trench plans and sections.

{6} Fieldwalking survey identified fragments of burnt and worked flint were observed in all three fields with no specific concentrations, although the greater amount of material appeared in Field C.
Four sherds of Iron Age pottery were observed, and Romano-British pottery was observed in all three fields, with a concentration on the higher ground to the north and west of Covert Lodge Farm. This may be derived from known Iron Age and Romano-British sites in adjacent areas, or directly from activity within the three fields.

Magnetometer survey was carried out on areas of the site suggested by the results of the wider magnetic susceptibility survey. Clusters of hut circles, larger enclosures, pits, one long linear feature and an area of rectilinear features were indicated.

Subsequent evaluation trenches confirmed the presence of the features identified by geophysical survey. Ditches defining the hut circles and enclosures were either single cuts or a complex of re-cuts, the latter suggesting several phases of settlement activity. Pottery recovered indicated an Iron Age date, though more specialist dating will be carried out. Additional features identified included a cobbled surface. Fragments of daub recovered may indicate wattle walling.

{9} Large-scale excavation was undertaken between 1997-8 ahead of the development of the eastern part of the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT East). It investigated an Iron Age village, or 'aggregated settlement', founded in the middle of the 1st millennium BC on the banks of a broad shallow stream. The settlement covered an area of over 13ha. In total, over 100 distinct ring gullies were recorded, although not all were in use at the same date; at its height the settlement probably comprised 40 buildings.

One of the earliest features to be established was a substantial boundary ditch that surrounded the northern side of the settlement and which persisted throughout the period of occupation. Although there was no clear dating evidence at Covert Farm a potentially contemporary ditch at Crick Hotel is thought to date to the 5th century BC. The ring gullies, which were generally smaller than those in succeeding phases, were formed of pairs while others appeared to be isolated structures. Several of the gullies were associated with internal ring slots that may have carried the footings of the buildings.

In the subsequent phase (a single radiocarbon date of 405-351 cal BC) there were 20 complete ring gullies dispersed across much of the excavated area, with a slight increase in diameter. There appears to have been a mixed economy and small-scale iron-smithing.

In the later middle Iron Age the settlement underwent a considerable expansion in the number and density of structures (with at least 44 complete structures) and at least part of the northern boundary appears to have been replaced by a pit alignment. Small enclosures were constructed containing larger ring gullies associated with smaller examples and four-post structures, with each group of structures probably accommodating an individual extended family. A large elliptical ring gully or enclosure was completely different from any structure identified in any of the periods- the size and character of this feature suggests a specialised function, possibly a ritual or ceremonial centre. It had been constructed over an isolated pit containing Beaker pottery (late Neolithic/early Bronze Age).

During the later Iron Age, the settlement appears to have contracted in size, with some areas probably abandoned and settlement focused in the lower gravel areas adjacent to the streams. Some elements from the previous phase persist, although the possible ritual enclosure did not. This phase was most productive for charred plant remains, with barley becoming more abundant.

By the Roman period, activity was confined to the upper clay zone of the site; the lower gravel zones adjacent to the streams were abandoned presumably due to periodic flooding. Of the two enclosures in this phase, only one contained internal structures and it seems probable that this was the focus for a farmstead with the larger enclosure acting as an animal pen. There was no evidence of settlement in the 1st century AD suggesting the site may have been abandoned before, during or after the conquest. The Roman road (A5) appears to have been built through the previous phase of occupation and the subsequent settlement, a small isolated farmstead, was not fully established until the 2nd century AD. The layout of the farmstead still utilised the major boundary first created in the early Iron Age. Abandonment of the Covert Farm site by or during the 3rd century AD may have been linked to the final silting of the streams.

{10} A watching brief was undertaken in 1999 during construction. Topsoil stripping revealed that the linear ditch excavated in 1997-8 (LD1) extended a further 65m beyond the excavated area, curving gently westwards. This was 4m wide x 0.9m deep with a V-shaped profile, and had been re-cut several times. Sherds of greyware and samian were recovered from the top of the ditch.

In the south-east corner of Zone A a wide curvilinear ditch was clearly a continuation of the linear ditch LD2 that was dated to the C2nd AD during excavation in 1997-8. The V-shaped ditch contained numerous pot sherds including greyware, samian and mortaria, fragments of a quernstone and slag. The course of the ditch was followed for c.22m before it disappeared beneath a spoil heap. This ditch was intersected by another ditch 1m wide x 0.55m deep, which contained pottery of a similar type and date range. A further intersecting ditch contained highly degraded bone fragments.

Within Zone B a series of parallel curvilinear gullies was revealed. These were shallow and U-shaped, with some inter-cutting, but no dating evidence was recovered from their fills.
To the south-west of Zone B machine excavation revealed a number of features including a ring gully 0.9m wide x 0.3m deep, which contained fragments of fired clay. A 4m length of a second curvilinear gully 1m wide was also excavated. A third curvilinear feature was heavily disturbed during site clearance.

{11} Archaeological watching brief undertaken to the south-east of the Crick Covert Farm excavation. Archaeological features were uncovered which had not been picked in the geophysical surveys. Others were discovered which were located outside the areas surveyed. The form of some of these features suggest evidence of habitation structures. The operations were carried out to obtain topsoil and were not directed at obtaining archaeological information; archaeological data obtained may not form a complete record of the archaeology. Traces of probable ring ditches, pits, postholes and enclosures were identified. The small amount of pottery recovered from the features was Iron Age in date. A single possible quern/grinding stone was collected from the topsoil context.

<1> CHAPMAN A., 1994, SMR Report Form, (checked) (SMR Report Form). SNN49461.

<2> Horne, B (editor), 1996, South Midlands Archaeology: CBA Group 9 Newsletter (26), p.31 (checked) (Notes). SNN40064.

<3> Hughes G., 1998, The Excavation of An Iron Age Settlement at Covert Farm (DIRFT East), Crick, Northamptonshire, p.6 (checked) (Interim Note). SNN104582.

<3> Hughes G., 1999, The Excavation of An Iron Age Settlement at Covert Farm (DIRFT East), Crick, Northamptonshire: Post excavation assessment and updated research design, (checked) (Report). SNN111087.

<4> Rees G., 2008, Enclosure Boundaries and Settlement Individuality in The Iron Age, (unchecked) (Article). SNN106040.

<5> RPS CLOUSTON, 1997, DIRFT East: Evaluation Report Interim, Volume 2, RPSC 6+7 (checked) (Interim Report). SNN72900.

<6> RPS CLOUSTON, 1997, DIRFT East: Evaluation Report Interim, Volume 1, p.6 (checked) (Interim Report). SNN72894.

<7> RPS Consultants, 2001, Daventry: DIRFT Phase 2, Environmental Statement, (unchecked) (Report). SNN102487.

<8> Starley, D & Tulp, C, 1998, The assessment of metalworking debris from Covert Farm, (DIRFT East), Crick, Northamptonshire (Report). SNN111714.

<9> Hughes, G and Woodward, A., 2015, The Iron Age and Romano-British settlement at Crick Covert Farm: Excavations 1997-1998 (DIRFT Volume I) (Monograph). SNN110566.

<10> Watt S., 2000, Covert Farm (DIRFT East), Crick, Northamptonshire: An Archaeological Watching Brief, p.3 (checked) (Report). SNN100592.

<11> Chilcott, B, Masefield, R & Hall, N, 1997, Dirft East Topsoil Stripping, An Archaeological Watching Brief, p.6-7 (checked) (Report). SNN39964.

<12> Monckton, A, 2000, Charred plant remains fom an Iron Age settlement at DIRFT East, Covert Farm, Crick, Northamptonshire (Report). SNN112351.

Record last edited

Mar 24 2025 9:32AM