Monument record 8264/1 - Prehistoric/Romano-British Activity, east of Watling Street

A low density of Iron Age and Roman features have been identified during various stages of archaeological investigation, including an early Iron Age pit alignment which was partially recut in the Roman period, a cremation radiocarbon dated to 68-221 cal AD (95.4%) and Roman trackway.

{1} A scatter of small features were identified in the north-east of the area scanned.

{2} A linear feature was observed, orientated north-west. A section across it showed that it had sloping sides and a rounded base. No dateable material was recovered from it, although Roman and Iron Age pottery and Neolithic flintwork were detected in the topsoil. It was cut into the clay subsoil layer and covered by a dark alluvial layer (a characteristic it shares with Iron Age features on other parts of the site).

{3} A pit alignment, aligned north-north-west/south-south-east across Area 1, was approximately 148m in length. The boundary defined by this feature potentially continued to the south, beyond the limit of the excavation, however, expansion of Area 1 northward to locate the northern terminus of the alignment demonstrated that it terminated just to the north of the original limit of excavation. The vast majority were also empty of finds, although the top fill of one contained a single sherd of Roman pottery, and the basal fill of another produced two fragments of industrial waste with fired clay adhering to them, which may have derived from a hearth or furnace lining. A further feature dating to the prehistoric period was a curvilinear boundary ditch, measuring approximately 103m in length and generally orientated east/west, which cut through a gap in the pit alignment towards the southern boundary of Area 1.
Roman agricultural activity included rectilinear fields and a trackway. There was an undated human cremation burial deposited in a pit, immediately to the west of the trackway. The burial was accompanied by a group of small iron nails, possibly hobnails. It seems likely that this feature was Roman, although there is no definitive dating evidence.

{5} The human cremation burial returned a radiocarbon date (SUERC-73898) of cal. 68–221 AD (95.4%). Along with 97.6g of human bone the fill contained 219 hobnails or small casket nails. The relatively small amount of cremated bone may have been deliberately selected from the funerary pyre for burial as a token representation of the cremated individual.

<1> RPS CLOUSTON, 1997, DIRFT East: Evaluation Report Interim, Volume 2, RPSC 6+7 (checked) (Interim Report). SNN72900.

<2> RPS Clouston, 1997, Dirft East Topsoil Stripping, An Archaeological Watching Brief, p.8 (checked) (Report). SNN39964.

<3> Coyne, J., 2016, DIRFT III, Land East of Watling Street (A5), Northants: Post-Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design (Report). SNN110791.

<4> Crank, N. (Editor), 2017, South Midlands Archaeology (47), p. 35-6 (Journal). SNN111362.

<5> Coyne, J & Stansbie, D, 2017, DIRFT III: Land east of Watling Street (A5), Northamptonshire. Excavation Report (Report). SNN111439.

Record last edited

Apr 17 2019 12:45PM