SNN106724 - A Romano-British 'ladder' enclosure at Milton Ham, Northampton: Assessment report and updated project design

In February and March 2008, Northamptonshire Archaeology carried out the excavation of a Romano-British 'ladder' enclosure at Milton Ham. The earliest evidence for activity on the site dates to the late 2nd/ early 3rd centuries AD and comprised a number of small gullies, possibly forming a series of livestock pens, and a small oven. Two human cremation burials, which are currently undated but probably date to the same period, were recovered from the southern part of the site. The 'ladder' enclosure, which dated to the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, consisted of a sub-rectangular enclosure, aligned north to south and measuring approximately 150m long by 35m wide, divided into a number of small sub-enclosures. There was a triangular annexe on the east side of the settlement, defined by two boundary ditches extending from the corners of the main enclosure. Access to the annexe and 'ladder' enclosure appears to be from the east. The enclosure was probably primarily used to hold livestock, although the northern part of the settlement, which had been extensively modified, may have had other agricultural uses. Although there was no clear evidence for habitation within the enclosure or annexe, the pottery, glass and building material recovered from the site suggest that there was a building, possible a small villa, nearby. Medieval plough furrows and a possible headland were also identified.