SNN112368 - Grafton Underwood Solar Farm, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Evaluation

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in January 2020 on land at Grafton Underwood, Northamptonshire. The evaluation was undertaken to inform a planning application to Northamptonshire County Council for a proposed solar farm within the site. The fieldwork comprised the excavation of fifty-six trenches. The results of the evaluation correlate broadly with the findings of the previous geophysical survey of the site, which identified anomalies indicative of settlement activity, in the form of enclosures, concentrated towards the south-western limits of the site. Further anomalies were indicated by the geophysical survey in the north-eastern portion of the site; however, corresponding features were not identified during the evaluation. Further linear anomalies representing former ploughing regimes were also identified intermittently across the southern part of the site. The evaluation identified archaeological remains, concentrated in the south-western part of the site, comprising four Iron Age ditches and one ditch of early Roman date. With further isolated activity in the form of two undated ditches identified in the central and eastern parts of the site respectively. Modern features, most likely associated with the sites’ former use as an airfield were also recorded.