SNN112554 - Milton Ham, Northampton: Post-fieldwork Assessment and Updated Project Design for Analysis, Publication and Archiving

Archaeological open-area excavations were undertaken between May and July 2020 in advance of development at Milton Ham Farm, Northampton. The work was commissioned in response to a condition placed on the planning consent (N/2018/0277), which required the implementation of an archaeological mitigation strategy. This document presents an assessment of the results of the archaeological investigation and proposals for analysis, publication and archiving. The undertaking and completion of this programme of works, as set-out in this document, will fulfil the requirements stipulated in a Written Scheme of Investigation approved by the Northamptonshire County Council’s Assistant Archaeological Advisor. The earliest phase of identified remains were dated to the Iron Age. They comprised a substantial landscape boundary, a trackway, scattered pits and a small enclosure. The landscape boundary crossed both excavation areas on a NW-SE alignment and was constructed in two phases. The first phase was an intermittent boundary comprising a combination of pits and ditches, which was later consolidated into a single continuous boundary with the construction of a pit alignment. Romano-British activity within the excavation areas was mostly limited to a series of 49 bedding trenches, which formed three separate field systems covering a total area of c.2ha. They were situated c.100m south-west of a contemporary settlement revealed within previous excavations. Fourteen post-holes were identified scattered among the bedding trenches. Dispersed early Anglo-Saxon features were identified across the north half of the site. A sunken-featured building and a timber structure were situated on the west side of the site, spaced c.70m apart. A small inhumation cemetery comprised of four burials was situated c.120m east of these structures. Whilst three produced no grave goods, one contained two copper alloy cruciform brooches, an iron object worn on the hip, a pottery vessel by the head and a necklace made up of thirty-seven variously coloured and patterned glass beads. A small adjacent posthole may have served as a grave marker. The revealed remains have the potential to contribute to a number of local and regional research themes relating to the Iron Age Romano-British and early AngloSaxon periods. On this basis and in accordance with the Written Scheme of Investigation, a programme of analysis is proposed, the results of which will ultimately be disseminated via an archive report uploaded to OASIS, followed by a summary published in CBA South Midlands. Upon completion of the report, subject to the landowner’s consent, the written and material archives will be prepared for accessioning with the Northamptonshire Archaeological Resource Centre (ARC) (HER event code.: ENN109759).