SNN110600 - Land West of Northampton: Archaeological Evaluation, October 2016

In September 2016, Cotswold Archaeology (CA) carried out an archaeological evaluation of land west of Northampton, Northamptonshire. The fieldwork was undertaken to inform a forthcoming planning application for the residential development of the site. The fieldwork comprised the excavation of eighty-two trenches. Archaeological interest in the site is derived from its location within an area containing extensive cropmarks. Within the site and its immediate vicinity, four notable cropmark clusters straddle either side of Dallington Brook, with two further distinct groups of rectilinear cropmarks located no more than 400m west of the site. The evaluation identified a concentration of archaeological remains within the central part of the site, with a lower density of archaeological remains within the northern and southern parts of the site. Where archaeological features were encountered during the current trenching there was a good correlation with the cropmark evidence and the results of the geophysical survey. Archaeological features encountered comprised ditches, pits and furrows, generally dated to one of three broad periods; Iron Age, medieval and postmedieval/modern. An intensive zone of Iron Age settlement activity was identified within the central part of the site, either side of Dallington Brook. This comprised a series of enclosures, trackways and elements of field systems. Medieval plough furrows, the remains of the open field system that once surrounded the village of Duston, were encountered across most of the site. The evaluation identified a number of predominantly undated, but probable postmedieval/early modern ditches. They fit within the general alignment identified within the surrounding field systems and depicted on historic and current Ordnance Survey mapping. The ditches are likely to represent boundary and/or drainage features. In addition the evaluation also recorded three undated ditches which could not be confidently attributed to any of the identified periods of activity.