SNN107467 - Land at Glapthorn Road, Oundle, Northamptonshire: An Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment

In May 2011 AS carried out an archaeological desk-based assessment of land at Glapthorn Road, Oundle. The assessment was commissioned to accompany a planning application for a new residential development. The assessment site is situated on the upper slopes of the western side of the valley of the River Nene, in an area where archaeological excavations have revealed an adjacent Iron Age settlement, a Roman farmstead, and a small Anglo-Saxon cemetery. The route of a medieval road also passes through the eastern part of the assessment site. From the medieval and post medieval periods the site remained as agricultural land until it was incorporated into the playing fields of Oundle School in the late 19th to early 20th centuries. The assessment site has a moderate to high potential to contain multi-period archaeological remains. Conversely it has been subject to ground disturbance comprising levelling for a playing field. The design of the proposed residential development has yet to be finalised, but any development is likely to have a significant impact on archaeological remains, if present, at 250-450mm beneath the existing ground surface.