SNN115686 - Data from an Archaeological Recording at Welsh Road, Boddington, Cherwell, Northamptonshire, 2021-2022 (HS2 Phase One)

Introduction This collection comprises a digital archive of photographs, reports and scanned site records from the archaeological recording by Headland Archaeology on land at Welsh Road, Northamptonshire between June and August 2021. Project Summary The following additional site-specific objectives were defined: Provide more dating and stratigraphic evidence to investigate the nature and phasing of the Iron Age enclosures within the limits of the area; Recover more substantial artefact and environmental assemblages which will provide more accurate information on functions taking place and the local economy, in particular quantifying the potential changing nature of the settlement over time through phasing and establishing the different activities within the site and how they altered and moved through time; Establish how the site is perceived as an interacting element of a wider working landscape; and To contribute to the delivery of the Generic Written Scheme of Investigation (GWSI): Historic Environment Research and Delivery Strategy (HERDS) Knowledge Creation (KC) Specific Objectives. For land parcel C32087, the Fieldwork Change Control Acceptance Sheet (FCCF) and Location Specific Written Schemes of Investigation (LSWSI) identified that the archaeological investigation may contribute to the following objectives KC15: Can we identify regional patterns in the in the form and location of Late Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements across the route, and are there associated differences in landscape organisation and enclosure; KC16: Investigate the degree of continuity that existed between Late Bronze Age and Iron Age communities in terms of population, mobility and subsistence strategies; KC17: What evidence is there for regionality in the mortuary rites of the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age, and how does that alter over time?; KC18: Explore the evidence for increasing social complexity in the archaeological record in the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age, and identify patterns of intra-regional and regional variation; KC19: The Romano‐British period saw the beginning of a more established infrastructure network. Can we investigate the development of these routes, trackways and roads and the influence they had on landscape change?; KC21: Assess the evidence for regional and cultural distinctiveness along the length of the route in the Romano‐British period, with particular regard to the different settlement types encountered along the route; and KC23: Identify evidence for late Roman occupation and attempt to identify any continuity in settlement patterns between the end of the Romano‐British period and the Early Medieval period. Reuse Value Statement The results of the excavations indicate activity primarily dating to the middle to late Iron Age, with activity focused on a series of enclosures. There is limited evidence for an earlier prehistoric presence with lithics recovered from several features. Further assessment of the lithics may provide additional insight into the chronology and nature of this activity. Across the site there was evidence for the impact of later medieval to modern agricultural activities in the truncation of several of the features by a series of north to south furrows. The stratigraphic analysis of the Site is complete. The features have been described in detail with the evidence from the artefactual and environmental assessment incorporated into the narrative. All records have been digitised and processed in line with HS2 Standards and Guidance. All finds and environmental samples have been processed and assessed. No further processing work is required. No further stratigraphic work is proposed for the Site, but the dating of features and finds could be refined through radiocarbon dating of key contexts, in particular those features (e.g. trackway) currently assigned to M-LIA Phase 2. Further analysis may be required based on the results. The small size of the prehistoric pottery assemblage and its character adds little to the study of later Iron Age pottery in the region. However more detailed analysis of the fabric of the pottery and comparison with other sites in the area would help to refine the site chronology. This includes further analysis of local pottery fabrics and comparison with local assemblages and fabric series, further fabric division and recognition and the research to place the assemblage within its local and regional context and illustrations of pottery sherds from deposits (0014), (0081) and (0085). The remaining finds and environmental assemblage is too small and fragmentary to provide any further useful information. Therefore, no further analysis work is recommended.