SNN112354 - Archaeological Excavations at Pineham North (residential Area), Upton, Northampton, Volume 1: Excavation Report

ULAS was commissioned to undertake a large-scale archaeological excavation at land east of Upton Valley Way North, Pineham in advance of major residential development for Taylor Wimpey plc (East Midlands). The archaeological work is required as Condition 17 of the planning permission ref: N/2007/1570. The site is part of a wider archaeological landscape and contained two dense areas of archaeological activity (designated 'Settlement 1' and 'Settlement 3') located separately within two adjoining arable fields. These had previously been identified from fieldwalking, geophysical investigation and trial trenching. The 2013/14 excavations revealed human activity on the site dating from the Palaeolithic period through to recent times. The earliest evidence on the site consisted of flint tools dated to the Upper Palaeolithic, hinting at activity in this part of the landscape 50,000 to 10,000 years ago. Scattered pits were dug into the more permeable geology dating to the Early and Middle Neolithic, forming the first clear evidence of occupation. Subsequently, areas of higher ground were utilised for the construction of round barrows in the early Bronze Age. The landscape became more intensely managed during the Iron Age, when a series of linear boundaries were established. These boundaries subsequently became the focus of a middle Iron Age settlement within the western part of the site ('Settlement 1'), featuring a complex of enclosures containing multi-phase roundhouses. This activity had declined by the later Iron Age, with the focus of activity shifting to the eastern part of the site (settlement 2). A new field system was laid out against the southern side of the earlier east-west boundary system during the early first century. There was an intensification of settlement within this area after the Roman conquest, with further smaller field boundaries established and remodelled during the 1st to 4th centuries AD. Within these areas, various agricultural activities were identified. This area continued to be utilised in the Anglo-Saxon period, with evidence for housing focused in the area of the latest Roman activity; the site was used as arable farmand until it was redeveloped by Taylor Wimpey in 2013 for a major new residential area. A full copy of the archive will be presented to Northamptonshire Museum Service once provision is made for its storage within the county. Until that time it will be stored at ULAS under the site code NH_PINE13b.