SNN110189 - An archaeological excavation on land adjacent to the former Sun Inn, Main Street, Marston Trussell, Northamptonshire

University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) carried out an archaeological excavation on land at the former Sun Inn public house, Main Street, Marston Trussell, Northamptonshire (SP 6921 8590).) This was undertaken in advance of residential development of former car park, located to the north of the buildings which front onto Main Street. The northern part of the site lies within the medieval shrunken village (a Scheduled Monument) and the fieldwork was carried out under Scheduled Monument Consent from English Heritage. Mid – late Saxon pottery and a 9th – 10th century spindle whorl indicates activity in this part of the village from the Saxon period. The excavations identified a small number of individual features such as post-holes, pits and gullies that could be Saxon –early medieval in date. The bulk of the identified archaeology however comprises a dense concentration of pits and ditches possibly related to quarrying for building materials. The intercutting of these features makes it difficult to assign a date beyond medieval and the fragmentary nature of the pottery suggest that this activity lies beyond the main occupation areas. Activity on the site continues into the 15th - 16th centuries, although the earliest date for building comprising the Sun Inn is c. 1700. There is no obvious correspondence between the recorded archaeology and the mapped earthworks of the shrunken village although the features do lie on a similar alignment. The excavated features continue beyond the boundary of the Scheduled Monument and appear to represent peripheral activity such as quarrying. The finds and environmental data suggest agricultural and domestic activities consistent with medieval life in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire, but beyond that add little to our knowledge of the Scheduled Monument itself. The work was carried out for Tofino Homes. The Planning authority is Daventry Council (Planning consent No. DA/2012/0480), and the site archive will be retained by ULAS for Northamptonshire County Council, pending the set-up of the county archive store with the accession no. NHMT2.2014.