SNN114185 - Archaeological strip, map and sample excavation on land to the rear of 15 and 15A Chancery Lane, Thrapston, Northamptonshire

An archaeological strip, map and sample excavation was undertaken by University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) on land to the rear of 15 and 15A Chancery Lane, Thrapston, Northamptonshire (SP 9955 7878) between 28th February - 16th March 2022. The fieldwork was undertaken as a condition that had been imposed as a condition on a planning application for residential development. A programme of archaeological evaluation by trial trenching had been undertaken on the site in 2013, which identified several ditches identified as medieval property boundaries. The follow up strip, map and sample excavation evaluation revealed activity dating to the Roman and Saxo-Norman to early medieval periods. The former comprised several gullies and smaller ditches, which produced limited finds evidence for domestic occupation. In terms of the medieval evidence, there were further indications of a series of parallel ditches running northeast to southwest parallel to and likely forming the rear boundary to properties fronting Chancery Lane to the east. In addition, the discovery of a substantial rubble-filled ditch in the northeast corner of the development area offered the suggestion of the first tangible archaeological evidence from Thrapston for the medieval castle which was located adjacent to the present site. Environmental evidence from the latter suggested an open, water-filled feature, suggesting that this ditch may represent part of the castle moat. The absence of cess or food waste from this feature set apart from the other ditches, providing further indications of its significance.