SNN111363 - Land at Victoria Close, West Haddon, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Trial Trenching

A planning application is being prepared for residential development of land at Victoria Close, West Haddon, Northamptonshire. The Proposed Development Area (PDA) comprises elements of two arable fields situated immediately to the NW of the village. As the site had the potential to contain archaeological remains, the County Archaeological Advisor recommended the implementation of a programme of archaeological evaluation, so that the impact of any proposed development could be assessed and an appropriate mitigation strategy devised. Albion Archaeology was commissioned by CgMs Consulting Ltd to undertake a programme of trial trenching, the results of which would support the planning application. A trenching strategy, comprising 10 trenches, was devised to investigate the PDA, utilising the earlier geophysical survey that had identified a number of probable archaeological features. Two trenches in the land parcel to the west could not be investigated due to the presence of services. In light of the initial results in the main land parcel, an additional trench was opened to investigate the continuation of a geophysical anomaly. The evaluation was undertaken in mid-January 2014. It identified a series of ditches in the main land parcel, which correlated with geophysical anomalies. Two areas of archaeological remains, referred to in this report as the Northern and Southern Areas, were defined. They were separated by the central part of the PDA, which was devoid of archaeological features. The Northern Area, in the vicinity of Trenches 7 and 8, contained ditches corresponding to geophysical anomalies; they could comprise enclosures and converging trackways associated with the Iron Age / Romano-British settlement identified previously along the route of the bypass, c. 100m to the NNW of the PDA. The Southern Area, in the vicinity of Trenches 1-3 and 11, defined an area of smaller rectilinear enclosures, extending from the southern margin of the PDA. The investigation revealed considerable variation in the thickness of the overburden sealing the archaeological features. It was at least 0.4m upslope to the north, increasing to a maximum thickness of 0.85m to the south. The evaluation has confirmed the presence of two areas of enclosures, which are probably part of the same landscape as the settlement identified within the route of the bypass. The sparse finds may suggest that these enclosures were remote from the main focus of settlement. However, this may be misleading, as even at its zenith in the late 2nd century AD, the site was characterised by its excavators as a low-status rural settlement where finds were not abundant. The remains within the PDA are of local and regional significance; they have potential to shed light on aspects of Iron Age and Romano-British landscape development and morphology.