SNN111018 - Rushden Lakes, Ditchford Road, Rushden, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Evaluation Report, 2017

A 50-trench evaluation was undertaken on arable farmland to the north of Rushden, Northamptonshire to inform on the archaeological potential within the investigation area. The Northamptonshire Historic Environment Record reported the presence of a prehistoric settlement in the western half of the evaluation area. This was corroborated by geophysical survey which provided greater resolution of the settlement, increasing our understanding of its limits and layout. The evaluation established the presence and survival of several archaeological features associated with the settlement and provided dating evidence which placed it in the middle–late Iron Age, between the mid-3rd century and the late 1st century BC. Further archaeological features, consisting of a few ditches and a pit, were encountered in the far eastern part of the evaluation area. Little could be discerned of their character and function, though the recovery of a small amount of Roman pottery suggests that they may have been features of this date. The geophysical survey also identified ridge and furrow in the western half of the evaluation area, along with signs of modern disturbance and services. No evidence of any other archaeological features was established by the evaluation. The route of a disused railway line, seen on historic maps, defines the northern boundary to the evaluation area. Evaluation trenches in this area encountered made-up ground relating to this former embankment.