Monument record 1319 - Iron Age, Romano-British & Possible Early Middle Saxon Settlement

Site identified as cropmarks on aerial photographs. A geophysical survey, undertaken 1991 as part of the Raunds Area Survey, provided further detail of the layout of the settlement. Fieldwalking survey recovered Iron Age, Roman and early-middle Saxon pottery. The site has been interpreted as an area of 19th-century ironstone extraction during the Bedford Borough NMP.

{1} Cropmark complex comprising three sided rectilinear enclosure, aligned east-west with opening to the east (131m by 73m); single ditch cutting across contour and dark patches perhaps representing large pits up to 7m wide.Geophysics carried out and revealed additional features including series of internal enclosures and ditches and a ring ditch possibly representing a hut circle (15m diameter). Eastern side of large rectangular enclosure appeared to be double ditched. Site appears to represent at least two phases of construction although its purpose was uncertain. Geophysics evidence complicated by ridge and furrow and two former hedgelines.

{2} One of two distinct sets of cropmarks lying 280m apart, identified in adjacent fields. In addition to information from aerial photographs and fieldwalking, a geophysical survey of the eastern settlement was undertaken by AML. The cropmarks appear to form two separate, but possibly contemporary farms, both of which demonstrate continuity from the Iron Age to the early Roman periods. Later Roman and possibly early middle Saxon activity seems to have been largely confined to the eastern settlement.
RAP Site 42a comprises three sides of a rectilinear enclosure covering c.0.95ha and aligned east-west, with its open end towards the east. Dark patches, possibly representing large pits up to 7m wide, occur at the east end and to the south of the enclosure where they share a north-east to south-west alignment and are possibly situated in pairs. A single ditch cuts across the contour on the spur of higher ground 50m to the east.
Geophysical survey showed that the site was considerably more complex than suggested by the cropmarks. The northern side of the enclosure was shown to be double-ditched, while the western end with a single ditch is separated from the eastern half by a double or possibly triple set of internal north-south ditches. It is uncertain whether the west end represents an addition or was original. A 15m diameter ring ditch within it apparently has an opening on its south side, and may be a hut circle.
A series of ditches, some perhaps representing sub-divisions within the southern half of the main enclosure, can be identified. Three sub-ovoid enclosures, ranging in size from 200 m sq up to 500m sq were located by the southern boundary. A further ditch set at an angle to the internal boundary suggests that the site was formed by at least two phases of construction, though its purpose is uncertain.
Iron Age pottery forms two discrete scatters in and around each group of cropmarks. A concentration of 35 sherds is located within the eastern half of the rectilinear enclosure of 42a and a light scatter covering an area of about 7.5ha along the ridge could form an intensively manured infield. The presence and distribution of the pottery suggest that the settlement had an Iron Age origin.
A distinction between the two adjacent settlements can be traced throughout the Roman period. A concentration containing both early and late Roman pottery is mostly within the eastern part of the rectangular enclosure suggesting continuous settlement. Each site appears to have a halo of Roman pottery, including both early and late material, which merges with the general background of pottery. Further description of the Iron Age and Roman pottery given.

{4-10} A 19th century ironstone extraction site is visible as cropmarks on aerial photographs and was mapped as part of the Bedford Borough NMP project. Located in fields south of Midland Roads, about 515 metres SW of Raunds Grange and centred at TL 01255 72397, the Raunds Ironstone and Limestone Company extracted low quality iron ore from the site between 1881 and 1883. A standard gauge tramway linked the extraction with Raunds railway station some 1.5 kilometres to the west. The 1885 dated 1st Edition OS map shows the tramway in situ, but this track does not appear on the 1900 dated 2nd Edition OS map. The cropmarks comprise a W-E converging linear and curvilinear ditch, representing part of the tramway course depicted on the OS map. The ditches converge on a rectilinear ditch up to 5 metres wide that encloses an area 135 x 66 metres that may represent the area of extraction. Other linear ditches within and adjacent that rectangular area are probably associated with the ore extraction. The features are not visible on aerial photographs taken in 2018.

<1> Parry S., 1993, Raunds Area Survey Report, p.280-86 (checked) (Draft). SNN1175.

<2> Parry S. et al, 2006, Raunds Area Survey: An Archaeological Study of The Landscape of Raunds, Northamptonshire 1985-94, p.251-254 (part checked) (Book). SNN105780.

<3> Payne, A., 1991, Raunds Area Project; Red House and Keyston Road Sites. Report on geophysical surveys, September 1991 (Report). SNN111424.

<4> Oblique Aerial Photograph, NHC SF1983/26 31-JUL-1981 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN111738.

<5> Oblique Aerial Photograph, NHC 2535/10 31-JUL-1984 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN111738.

<6> Vertical Aerial Photograph, EARTH.GOOGLE.COM 01-JAN-2006 ACCESSED 11-OCT-2018 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN112695.

<7> 1970, CBA Group 9: Bulletin of Industrial Archaeology, p. 21 (Series). SNN110933.

<8> Ordnance Survey Map (Scale/date), Epoch 1 Ordnance Survey 1:2500 scale map Northamptonshire 1885 (Map). SNN112944.

<9> Ordnance Survey Map (Scale/date), Epoch 2 Ordnance Survey 1:2500 scale map Northamptonshire 1900 (Map). SNN112944.

<10> Vertical Aerial Photograph, Next Perspectives APGB Imagery TL 0172 12-JUN-2018 (Aerial Photograph(s)). SNN112695.

Record last edited

Jun 11 2024 3:57PM