Monument record 3445 - Bronze Age and Iron Age settlement, Little Houghton

Cropmarks of probable ditched enclosure and trackway have been identified on aerial photographs. Multiple finds of worked flint have been found across a wider area of the village and a late Neolithic pit was found during construction of the Bypass. A geophysical survey and trial trench excavation undertaken in 2018 broadly confirmed the presence of the archaeological features identified as cropmarks. Pottery from the features dated to the middle to late Iron Age.

{1} Excavation was carried out during by-pass works in 1978, by D. Jackson at SP 8066 5926. A pear-shaped pit 2.8m long x 0.34m wide was cut into sandstone. There was a charcoal layer at the bottom and round the sides. It appeared to be domestic. Late Neolithic decorated beaker sherds from several different vessels were retrieved.

{3} SP 80665926. A pit containing Beaker sherds and charcoal found during road construction in 1978.

{8} Geophysical survey was undertaken on fields west of Bedford Road. The survey recorded twelve possible linear features, which could form evidence of a enclosure, a trackway and field boundaries.

{9} Archaeological trial trenching was undertaken on land west of Bedford Road. In the north-west of the site there was a pit containing 97 sherds of Late Bronze pottery, in the area not subject to geophysical survey. A very rich assemblage of charred cereals (Emmer wheat) was recovered from an environmental sample taken from the fill of the pit. Two further pits were also identified in the same trench, although one was undated and the other not excavated.
On the south side of the site evidence of Iron Age activity was recorded, with pottery and charred plant remains recovered from the ditches and pits in the area of the cropmarks and where anomalies consistent with archaeological features were recorded during the geophysical survey. Further undated ditches and pits were identified and may indicate further Iron Age settlement not identified by the geophysical survey.

{10} Witham Archaeology undertook excavations at two areas of interest on the land off Bedford Road. Three distinct periods: the Bronze Age, the later middle Iron Age and the Anglo-Saxon period. The Bronze Age features appear to relate to ritual and funerary activity, whereas the Iron Age and Anglo-Saxon remains are clearly related to settlement.
The clearest evidence recovered for Bronze Age activity is in the form of human cremations concentrated in the north-eastern part of the site. Several pits containing artefactual material dated as Bronze Age were located in an area of intensive Iron Age activity. Activity attributable to the Middle to Late Iron Age predominated over the majority of the site. A large number of pits in the north-western and south-eastern parts of the site and the eastern extent of a large hilltop enclosure were identified. Several smaller Iron Age enclosures/modifications to the original layout were also identified.
The western limits of an Anglo-Saxon habitation area were uncvoered in the north-eastern part of the site, consisting of a two post grubenhaus or sunken featured building, a probable well and at least one post-built structure.

<1> Hall, D (Ed), 1979, South Midlands Archaeology: CBA Group 9 Newsletter (9), p.52 (checked) (Journal). SNN28703.

<2> Brown A.E. (Editor), 1979, Archaeology in Northamptonshire 1978, p.103 (checked) (Article). SNN45225.

<3> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1982, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.199 (unchecked) (Series). SNN77382.

<4> Map, (unchecked) (Map). SNN25424.

<5> JACKSON D., 1979, Site Plans, (checked) (Plan). SNN43932.

<6> 1977, Limit of Site and Site Clearance Plan, (checked) (Plan). SNN57318.

<7> Northamptonshire HER Collection of Aerial Photographs (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN104822.

<8> Jefferson, N, 2018, Land off Bedford Road, Little Houghton, Northamptonshire: Geophysical survey (Report). SNN112118.

<9> Walker, J, 2019, Land off Bedford Road, Little Houghton, Northamptonshire. Archaeological Trial Trench Evaluation (Report). SNN112385.

<10> G. Reid & R. Neale, 2024, Land off Bedford Road, Little Houghton, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Post-Excavation Assessment (Report). SNN116954.

Record last edited

Nov 28 2025 11:05AM