SNN112412 - Land Adjacent Barnwell Court, Mawsley, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Evaluation

In December 2020, Cotswold Archaeology undertook an archaeological evaluation at Land adjacent to Barnwell Court, Mawsley, Northamptonshire. A total of 22 trenches, each measuring 30m long by 2m wide, were excavated across the 7.4ha site. Overall, the results of the evaluation largely support the results of a preceding geophysical survey, identifying no significant archaeological remains within the Site. The geophysical survey suggested the presence of numerous furrows, many of which the evaluation did not observe. However, given the thin ploughsoil and evident plough-scarring to the surface of the natural substrate it is possible that any other furrows that were once present have been removed by modern agricultural operations with the more magnetically enhanced soils originally filling the furrows still present as bands in the ploughsoil that have produced the anomalies identified by the geophysical survey. The geophysical survey also highlighted the potential for a gully or ditch running between trenches 12 and 14; however, this was not observed in either trench. A single undated pit identified in Trench 1 is likely the only feature on the Site not directly connected with agricultural practices or post-medieval/modern activity. The function of the pit was unclear and it may be an entirely isolated feature or associated with activity taking place on the fringes of the Iron Age and Roman settlement previously investigated to the north of the Site. Cumulatively, the results of the evaluation suggest that the Site has primarily been used for agricultural purposes since the prehistoric period.