SNN112025 - An archaeological excavation on land east of allotments, Benefield Road, Glapthorn

An archaeological excavation was carried out between January 29th and February 15th 2019 by University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) on land east of allotments off Benefield Road, Glapthorn, Northamptonshire, (TL 01974 90504) in advance of the construction of two cottage-style houses and associated garages and hardstanding. The development site consisted of scrub land off Benefield Road at the eastern edge of the village of Glapthorn and is bounded by residential development to the east and south and allotment gardens to the west. Glapthorn once sat within the medieval forest of Clive or Cliffe and there are numerous archaeological sites in the area. The site lies within the historic settlement core of the village and the eastern edge falls within the shrunken medieval village of Glapthorn which has evidence of a 13th-14th century quarry, malting oven and late 15th century pottery and tile kiln workshop. An archaeological trial trench evaluation was carried out in November 2018 which revealed medieval pits and linear features that contained medieval pottery as well as large quantities of iron smelting slag. As a result the Northamptonshire Planning Archaeologist requested a strip, map and sample excavation to be carried out on the site prior to development. The excavation identified a series of large irregularly shaped pits probably the result of limestone extraction, a process known from other archaeological sites nearby. The pits had been backfilled with soil rich in metalworking slag, although no evidence of burning or industrial processes connected to metalworking was found anywhere on the site. The east of the site revealed smaller, more discrete features such as small oval shaped pits, post holes and ditches more suggestive of settlement activity. These features contained medieval pottery, mainly dating between 950-1400 and very little of the locally made 16th-17th century Glapthorn pottery. The environmental samples contained limited information on diet and agriculture, suggesting that the site was peripheral to the focus of medieval occupation in the village. Animal bone, mainly from sheep/goat and representing domestic refuse, had evidence for a relatively high level of pathology, perhaps suggestive of poor animal husbandry. One of the pits produced a complete copper alloy annular buckle of medieval date (1350-1400).