SNN114595 - Alban Mann Land, The Bell Plantation Garden Centre, Towcester, Northamptonshire: Archaeological Evaluation

Between March and April 2022, Cotswold Archaeology carried out an archaeological evaluation of the Alban Mann land at Bell Plantation Garden Centre, Towcester, Northamptonshire. A total of twelve trenches were excavated across the proposed development site, targeting anomalies identified by a preceding geophysical survey. A number of linear ditches were encountered in the trenches, matching geophysical anomalies which suggest the presence of a system of rectilinear enclosures and field systems, as well as possible trackways linking different elements of the agricultural landscape. A scatter of apparently isolated small/medium sized pits were also present, although no evidence for structural, domestic or industrial remains was encountered. The majority of the pottery assemblage recovered from the Site dates to between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD, with a relative scarcity of late Roman pottery fabrics and forms pointing towards a decline in activity from the late 3rd century onwards. The pottery assemblage is dominated by utilitarian forms; jars or probable jars and some bowls, although the presence of beakers and flagons in smaller quantities would indicate the service and consumption of liquids. The dominance of coarsewares and relative scarcity of finewares suggests relatively low status activity associated with general domestic usage. The limited environmental evidence recovered from bulk soil samples taken from features in Trenches 6, 7, and 8 was indicative of windblown/dispersed waste material only, with no indication of crop-processing, food preparation, or other settlement or industrial activity. A human skull and several possible cremation vessels were also observed in the basal fill of a ditch in trench 12, most likely disturbed from elsewhere and discarded into the ditch.