SNN108546 - An Archaeological Excavation at the Former Cherry Orchard School, Northampton February 2012

In February 2012 an archaeological excavation was carried out at the former Cherry Orchard School, Northampton. A well-preserved Roman pottery kiln, dated to the 1st century AD, had been excavated prior to the construction of the school in the 1950s. The kiln was a standard updraft type, but unusually much of the kiln furniture had been preserved in situ. Although much of the the rest of the site was known to have been quarried in the 19th and 20th centuries, further Roman remains were identified during evaluation in 2011. There were two parallel boundary or enclosure ditches aligned north west to south east, close to the location of the kiln. The southern ditch contained large quantities of kiln bar fragments. Since the kiln excavated in the 1950s had contained much of its kiln furniture and appeared only to have been fired once, the kiln bars may have originated from another kiln close by. To the west, there were two further parallel ditches, aligned north-south, with an entrance through the western ditch. It is possible that the two ditch groups were associated, possibly forming a sub-rectangular enclosure, or field system. The ditches broadly date from the mid-1st century AD through into the mid-late 2nd century AD. A grave, which had been dug into one of the earlier north-south boundary ditches, contained the remains of a middle aged male. Pottery in the grave dated to after the mid-2nd century AD, which is consistent with the tradition of this type of burial.