SNN112628 - Land at Southfield Road, Gretton, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Evaluation

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in September 2018 on land at Southfield Road, Gretton, Northamptonshire. A total of 32 trenches, each with a length of 40m and width of 2m, were excavated across the 8.2ha site. The evaluation identified limited evidence for past human activity within the proposed development area, primarily consisting of three large extraction pits of likely post-medieval date, ephemeral remnants of a post-medieval ridge and furrow system, a small number of shallow ditches and two shallow pits. Although a preceding geophysical survey identified the remains of a ridge and furrow cultivation system, only ephemeral traces of these were seen in a small number of trenches in the form of the basal remains of furrows. Similarly, a number of discrete anomalies identified by the geophysics were not observed. Evidence for modern plough truncation was however noted across the site and presumably accounts for the almost total removal of earlier features, except for the most substantial and relatively recent ones. It may also explain the relatively ephemeral nature of the few surviving features encountered. The three large pits may be related to quarrying activity in the wider area and possibly represent shafts excavated to prospect for ironstone, which is a component of the geology of the site and would have been mined and roasted to produce iron ore. Similarly, a shallower area of disturbance in the southwest corner of the site may represent an area of informal post-medieval extraction for use in the consolidation of pathways and tracks in the surrounding area. Although some prehistoric, Roman and Saxon cultural material was recovered from the backfill of these features the material used to infill them appears to have been deposited in bulk in a relatively short period of time and was characterised by quantities of blast furnace slag. Blast furnace technology was introduced to England in the late 15th century, indicating a post-medieval date for the backfilling of the pits and suggesting that the earlier material was residual. All the material used to infill the extraction pits also appears to have been derived from outside the proposed development site, with the both the geophysical survey and trenching having produced no evidence for settlement foci or industrial activity within the site itself from which this material could have derived. A number of undated, shallow linear ditches may represent past field boundaries or drainage channels, but no clear evidence relating to their date or function was obtained during the evaluation. Collectively, the results of the investigation suggest that activity within the site predominantly dates to the post-medieval and modern periods, with no evidence for substantive prehistoric, Roman or medieval activity within the site beyond the features noted above.