Monument record 154/1 - Late Iron Age/Romano-British Settlement & Funerary Activity, Illets Farm

Roman finds including pottery and coins have been found and in 1979 an inhumation with associated Roman pottery was found while ploughing. Remote sensing and geophysical surveys undertaken in 2013 identified a complex of rectilinear enclosures that may date to this period and subsequent trial trench excavation confirmed that the settlement was primarily occupied during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD with a probable origin in the late Iron Age.

{1} Skeleton found 30m north-west of hedge against road and 3-4m south-west of field boundary at SP 59560 38870. Found whilst ploughing. The skeleton was parallel to the adjacent field-boundary, its head to the north-west. It was extended and supine, and its hands on the pelvis. The skeleton was photographed and removed by the police but grave was examined 24/10/1979. Found while digging a posthole by a labourer. The front of the skull and rib cage had been destroyed by the plough. The grave lay immediately below 20cm of topsoil and its base was not greater than 40cm below the top of topsoil, and slightly cut into rubbley limestone with clay subsoil. Pottery was recovered from the grave spoil and further Romano-British pottery came from the adjacent plough soil. (Info G Foard 24/10/1979).

{2} Metal detecting of June 1992. Eleven Romano-British coins and a brooch at SP 5955 3885. Not seen by Northamptonshire Archaeology Unit.

{3} Roman Pottery has been reported in field surrounding grid reference SP59393882.

{6} Remote sensing survey undertaken as part of a suite of cultural heritage surveys for HS2 identified a number of narrow linear ditches probably associated with the Roman settlement, although geological and agricultural marks may have masked further features. A subsequent magnetometry survey undertaken in 2013 identified a complex of enclosures and related features.

{7} Trial trench excavation identified a number of archaeological features which broadly correlated with the results of an earlier geophysical survey. The features represent the site of a Roman rural settlement primarily occupied during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, with a probable origin in the late Iron Age. The main focus of the settlement was two large rectangular enclosures containing possible sub-divisions and timber and stone structures. They may have been surrounded by a wider field system.

<1> Bellingham N., 1979, Oral Report to SMR, (checked) (Oral Report). SNN105753.

<2> CADMAN G.E., 1992, SMR Report Form, (checked) (SMR Report Form). SNN50140.

<3> 1995, SMR Report Form, (checked) (SMR Report Form). SNN48795.

<4> CHADWICK P.; STEPHENSON A., 1999, Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment: Land at Brackley Bypass, Northamptonshire, (uchecked) (Report). SNN63161.

<5> Cotswold Archaeology Ltd, 2006, Brackley Sawmills: Environmental Report, (checked) (Report). SNN105704.

<6> High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd, 2013, London-West Midlands Environmental Statement: Technical Appendices, CFA14, Newton Purcell to Brackley, Survey reports (CH-004-014) Cultural heritage, p. 11/Site N52 (Report). SNN111657.

<7> Murtagh, F, 2020, AWHd Fieldwork Report for Archaeological Trial Trench Evaluation at Illet's Farm, Brackley South Cutting, Northamptonshire (Report). SNN112683.

<8> High Speed Two Ltd, Archaeological Research Services Ltd, 2024, Data from a Construction Integrated Recording at Illett's Farm, Northamptonshire, 2021-2022 (HS2 Phase One), https://doi.org/10.5284/1119071 (Digital archive). SNN116595.

Record last edited

Apr 1 2025 4:33PM