Monument record 1160/395/1 - Late Saxon Building

Probable foundation cuts for a timber building comprising two regular linear cuts.

{1}Into the red loam was cut a cluster of pits of medieval date. Their fills produced pottery dating between the early-middle Saxon period and the 16th century. In the western end of the trench was cut a shallow timber building slot and two adjacent post holes. The timber slot is also seen in Trench 7 and is thought to be part of a building. They produced pottery from a late Saxon to early Medieval date.
Nearby postholes and stakeholes may be associated.

{2} Two regular linear cuts. The longer trench measured c4.3m and was 0.3m deep; a return measuring 1.6m in length joined it centrally to the west and presumably represents an internal divide. Probable sill-beam settings. St Neots type ware and Northampton ware, comprising two jars were associated with the building. Likely to have been fairly short-lived dating from the mid to late 10th century and after its disuse the area was used for pitting. The full extent of the building was not established but the character of the deposits suggests that it was destroyed by fire, possibly in 1010 during attacks by the Danish Army, which sacked the town at this time.

<1> Soden I., 1998, Archaeological Evaluation at Barclaycard, Marefair, Northampton - Stage 2: Trial Excavation, (unchecked) (Report). SNN39581.

<2> Museum of London Archaeology Service, 2005, Saxon, medieval and post-medieval settlement at Sol Central, Marefair, Northampton, p.13 (Full Report). SNN105717.

<3> Steele A.; Wroe-Brown R., 2001, Sol Central Marefair, Northampton - An Archaeological Post-Excavation Assessment And Updated Project, (checked) (Report). SNN101157.

Record last edited

Sep 1 2016 11:44AM