Monument record 5875 - Iron Age/Roman Settlement, north of Harrington Road

Probable Iron Age to Roman settlement that was first identified by cropmarks. Geophysical survey detected enclosures, roundhouses, pits and post holes. Trial Trench evaluation confirmed the the survey results by identifying Iron Age and Roman activity in the form an enclosure complex.

{1} In 2023, MOLA undertook geophysical survey at Nunnery Farm. The survey detected a large rectilinear enclosure (150m x 90m) with four smaller enclosures appended onto it. There are many internal features, including at least three possible roundhouses and several 'U' and 'D' shaped features. Many of these are located against the north-eastern edge of the main enclosure. A separate ring-shaped feature, possibly a roundhouse or barrow, was detected c20m south-west of the enclosures. The site displays evidence of intense pitting both within and around the enclosures. These probably comprise a mixture of rubbish and storage pits, plus large post holes. The composition of the site leads the report to believe the settlement is of Iron Age or Roman date.

{2} In 2024, MOLA set out to confirm the results of the geophysical survey with a programme of trial trench evaluation. The results found archaeological remains dominated by Iron Age and Roman activity. The principal remains comprised a complex of Iron Age enclosures and pits, overlain and partly superseded by a large Roman enclosure system. The earliest activity was Iron Age in date and included a sub-rectangular enclosure of at least 0.24ha, with associated smaller sub-rectangular and sub-circular enclosures, together with several discrete circular enclosures. These were further associated with numerous pits. A substantial Roman enclosure complex was subsequently established slightly to the north of the Iron Age activity. This consisted of a large sub-rectangular enclosure of approximately 1.14ha, defined by several internal circular enclosures, interpreted as ring ditches, with numerous pits, including a storage pit.

<1> Adam Meadows; Chris Manktelow, 2023, Archaeological Geophysical Survey at Nunnery Farm, Rothwell, Northamptonshire (Report). SNN115896.

<2> Chris Pennell, 2025, Archaeological trial trench evaluation on land at Nunnery Farm, Rothwell, Northamptonshire, September - December 2024 (Report). SNN116990.

Record last edited

Feb 9 2026 2:10PM