Monument record 2035 - Late Iron Age/Romano-British settlement, south of Main Road

Cropmarks of ditches were identified on aerial photographs in 1979. Geophysical survey and trial trench excavation identified a large rectangular enclosure bounded by smaller enclosures to the north. The paucity of finds suggests the enclosures may have had agricultural functions.

{1} (SP848645) Ditches on AP in 1978.

{2} The survey has identified a series of adjoining enclosures that extends across both fields. The enclosures form a rectilinear pattern indicative of Iron Age and/or Roman settlement, although some curvilinear ditches are also present. The main enclosure ditches appear quite substantial being up to 6-8m in places, with strongly enhanced magnetic signals. Within the larger enclosures a series of subdivisions or subenclosures are apparent. The areas within these enclosures are magnetically ‘noisy’,
and it is likely that areas of pitting are present. Some curvilinear anomalies may represent eaves-drip gullies from round houses.

{3} The trial trench excavation confirmed the presence of a late Iron Age/Romano-British settlement that extended over c. 2.2ha. The possible core of the Romano-British settlement appears to have been bounded by a large ditch defining a rectangular enclosure. Evidence for activity within the main enclosure was limited to a single pit.

Smaller enclosures identified as geophysical anomalies were identified to the north and were investigated within Trenches 4, 5 and 6. Internal divisions were noted, although an absence of artefacts indicates that at least one of the enclosures was not directly related to the settlement’s domestic core. Some of the gullies identified had near vertical sides and flat bases and may have had a structural function. A grid-like pattern of closely spaced linear geophysical anomalies was identified within the southern part of the main rectangular ditched enclosure. Taking the geophysical anomalies into account they appear to form a series of square or rectangular ‘compartments’ that were approximately 7m wide and at least 10m long. Similar features at Cambourne New Settlement, Cambridgeshire were interpreted as small stock enclosures, although perhaps a horticultural function is more likely.

<1> Brown AE, 1980, Aerial Photography 1980, p. 177 (Notes). SNN104579.

<2> Ladocha J.; Fisher I., 2013, Archaeological Geophysical Survey on land south of Main Road, Earls Barton, Northamptonshire (Report). SNN109879.

<3> Barker, J and Luke, M., 2014, Land to the South of Main Road, Earls Barton, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Field Evaluation (Report). SNN110611.

Record last edited

Jan 31 2025 3:19PM