SNN111226 - Paynes Nurseries, Watling Street, Towcester, Northamptonshire: Archaeological evaluation report, 2018

In April 2018 four archaeological evaluation trenches were excavated at a former plant nursery located towards the northwest end of Towcester. The site was considered to have potential to reveal buried remains pertaining to the north-western extent of early Romano-British settlement at Towcester. A succession of made-ground layers was encountered in each of the trenches, to a depth of c. 0.75 m to c.0.8 m from the existing ground surface. The made-ground directly overlay a thin layer of alluvium, up to 0.2 m thick (above boulder clay), denoting that the site was historically situated on the floodplain of the River Tove. The made-ground layers originated in the late 18th or early 19th century and probably represent reclamation of land between Watling Street to the southwest and a late 18th century mill race embankment to the northeast. There were no earlier ground deposits and no residual artefacts from preceding periods. Based on the distribution of trenches, it may be reasonably extrapolated that reclaimed ground exists across at least the north-western half of the proposed development site.