Monument record 5134/1 - Early Middle Saxon settlement

Early middle Saxon features identified during trial trench excavation in 1989 included a sunken featured building. Further trial trenching undertaken in 2013 identified building another to the south.

{1} A sunken feature building 4m in length N-S and 3.5m wide E-W lay across a change in subsoil from a firm ironstone to a soft sand. As a result the north and west edges of the feature were well preserved, the sides had survived to a depth of approx 0.4m . The floor of the feature was relatively flat. A worn area in the NE quadrant lay at up to 0.05m below the surrounding floor level, this area was filled with brown silt loam with occasional limestone blocks some burnt.
Two post holes were discovered in the middle of the N and S sides while a further post hole was set on the same line to the S. Post holes 11, 14 and 15 contained limestone pieces presumably for post packing.

There were also two lines of three posts, aligned east west and set 2m apart. To the south of both lines lay two double postholes and further south again a postpad. The evidence would suggest a timber building in the area, though only further excavation could confirm this.

There were two ditches or possible furrows running parallel and set 8m apart, one was 0.8m wide and 0.1m deep and the other was 1.1m wide and 0.05m deep.
A ditch 0.8m wide and 0.35m deep ran to the north and lay parallel to the sunken featured building.
A large sub-rectangular feature 5.5m in length and 1.3m wide cut the sunken feature building and possible furrow.

{2} Early/middle Saxon settlement evaluation by M Shaw.

{3} The most significant distributions were those of the Romano-British and Early Middle Saxon pottery. The former is likely to be a residual element within early middle Saxon features. The latter was apparently of a domestic rather than funerary type. It could be assigned a broad c.450-800 AD date range. There was sufficient concentration on the higher ground centred on SP71316037 to indicate settlement here.

A deep linear pit, 1.8m in length east west and 0.8m in width north south, and 1.3m in depth. Initially it was thought that it might be a grave but no human bone was recovered from it. The fills contained a reasonably large quantity of animal bone. The original purpose of the pit is uncertain, small quantities of cinder/ clinker and top slag were recovered from it but insufficient to suggest metalworking. The animal bone would suggest that its secondary use was as a receptacle for domestic refuse.

{4} Trial excavation in 1989 by M.Shaw as part of the Upton Survey. Two adjoining gullies were set at right angles to it with another ditch 3m to the north and parallel to it. In addition was a series of postholes and the postpad of a possible separate structure to the west. Other pits, postholes and ditches were also revealed.

{5} Trial trench excavation at Upton Lodge. Two further possible sunken floor buildings were recorded. One, in a trench adjacent to the earlier excavation, was a subrectangular pit with two adjacent postholes. The feature was 2m in length, with a long axis orientated east to west. It was at least one metre wide and extended beyond the limit of excavation. The rounded sides of the feature tapered to a flat base 0.3m deep. The ovoid postholes were both 0.55m deep, and 0.35m in diameter. Pottery dating somewhere between the 5th to the 9th centuries AD was found in the pit fills.

Pits and ditches close by were largely undated and may be associated. One large pit contained fragments of pottery dating between 50BC and AD50.

A further possible building was identified some 100m to the north-east. It was a sub-circular pit, 3.8m in diameter and 0.4m deep. The feature had steep sides that gradually rounded off to a ‘U’-shaped base. The fill contained bread/club wheat remains, and occasional charcoal flecks. Two sherds of well stratified, un-abraded early to middle Saxon pottery indicated a broad date of between the 5th and 9th centuries for the feature.

<1> Shaw M., 1993, The Discovery of Saxon Sites Below Fieldwalking Scatters: Settlement Evidence at Brixworth and Upton, p.86-87(part checked) (Report). SNN40460.

<2> Dix B., 1992, Recent Work in Northamptonshire Archaeology, p.125 (checked) (Article). SNN104441.

<3> Shaw M., 1990, Archaeological Evaluation At Upton, Northampton (South West District), (checked) (Report). SNN102374.

<4> SHAW M., 1992, SMR Report Form, (checked) (SMR Report Form). SNN49530.

<5> Moore, P, Mann, P and Bell, M
Moore, P, Mann, P, and Bell, M., 2013, Upton Lodge, Upton, Northamptonshire: Archaeological evaluation 2013, p. 38 (Report). SNN110685.

Record last edited

Sep 12 2024 3:21PM