Monument record 164 - Late Iron Age/early Roman settlement, north-west of The Grove

A series of cropmarks identified from aerial photographs including possible ditched enclosures and a ring ditch. Subsequent archaeological investigation has confirmed the presence of a late Iron Age/early Roman settlement.

{2} Enclosures (SP 575338) lie SW of the village, W of the A43, on limestone, at 132 m. above OD. Air photographs show indistinct corpmarks of at least four small conjoined rectangular enclosures covering about 1 hectare.

{3} Geophysical survey identified a series of linear and curvilinear ditches likely to form a complex of enclosures associated with small-scale settlement. The anomalies broadly correspond to the cropmarks, although they are more numerous and cover a wider area. A spread of green waste immediately to the north may mask further archaeological features.

{3} Archaeological trial trench excavation identified archaeological features dating to the later Iron Age/early Roman period in four trenches. The features in three of the trenches corresponded to the anomalies previously identified during the geophysical survey, but further features were identified in a trench to the north, in the area previously noted as having a spread of green waste masking underlying features.

<1> Northamptonshire SMR Collection of Aerial Photographs, SP 5733/001 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN104822.

<2a> Vertical Aerial Photograph, CUAP BBK74 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN112695.

<2> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1982, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p. 50/Site 3 (Series). SNN77382.

<3> Stoddart, A, 2022, Geophysical Survey Report, Elm Tree Farm, Northamptonshire (Report). SNN116584.

<4> G. Davies, 2023, Astwick Green Power, Barley Mow Farm, Northamptonshire: Report on an Archaeological Trial Trench Evaluation (Report). SNN116184.

Record last edited

Feb 3 2025 8:14PM