Find Spot record 1651/0/1 - Probable Iron Age and Roman settlement, south of Pipewell Wood

Finds of Iron Age pottery of the 1st century AD and a loomweight fragment indicate a settlement site. Roman finds include 2nd to 4th century pottery, flue tiles and slate tiles suggesting a settlement.

{1} Settlement represented by a significant find scatter. A fairly small site is indicated, with dark soil and burnt stone. On the field to the east of it a very large saddle quern made of limestone was found (Pipewell was not searched for pre-medieval sites).

{2} Fieldwalking April 1981; SP830861. Large quantities of pot sherds and other material suggesting habitation. Various Romano-British fabrics and wares are represented, with grey wares and colour coated wares most abundant. Two small fragments of samian, a few sherds of imitation samian red ware, a small quantity of shelly ware and fragments of mortaria from several sources including Oxford and Nene Valley were also found. Large fragments of flue tile in shell-gritted fabric and pieces of roof tile were gathered from a limited area of the site, which also displayed a wider scatter of fine-grained sandstone rubble and Collyweston slate debris. Whilst most of the pottery is of C2nd to C4th date, some appears to be mid-C1st or earlier, including a certain amount of Belgic-type fabric. The possibility of pre-Belgic occupation of the site is supported by the discovery of a single sherd of Iron Age pottery and a large fragment of a clay loomweight of Iron Age pattern. Several pieces of grit and sandstone whetstones, probably of more recent origin, were also collected. Although now dispersed by soil movement down-slope, the Romano-British material indicates occupation of the flat summit of a low spur overlooking Harper's Brook, some 600m to the south.

<1> Hall D.N., 1960-1999, Rockingham Forest Project: Archaeological Sites Recorded by David Hall, Pipewell/Site 1 (unchecked) (Database). SNN102279.

<2> Brown A.E.(ed), 1982, Archaeology in Northamptonshire 1981, p.101 Wilbarston (checked) (Journal). SNN100413.

Record last edited

Oct 23 2025 4:27PM