SNN116064 - Archaeological excavation: Land to the east of Hardingstone, North of Newport Pagnell Road, Northamptonshire

In October 2018, Archaeological Research Services Ltd (ARS Ltd) was commissioned by Kier Living (now Telia Homes) to undertake archaeological open area excavation and archaeological strip, map and sample excavation on land to the north of Newport Pagnell Road, Northamptonshire. The site lies on the ridgetop of a low hill which drops away sharply to the north-east towards the current Brackmills Industrial Estate. Previous phases of work, undertaken since 1990, indicated prehistoric and Anglo-Saxon remains existed within the development area. Subsequent work, undertaken by ARS Ltd comprised a phased programme of soil stripping of eight separate areas of excavation in 2019, followed by further excavation in 2020 of an area previously inaccessible due to overhead power lines. These latter works connected two previously stripped areas. The archaeological excavations by ARS Ltd uncovered remains demonstrating activity dating to the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in the form of ring ditches, as well as Anglo-Saxon occupation and land use in the form of buildings, enclosures and two burials. The level of archaeological preservation on the site was generally poor, having suffered extensive horizontal truncation from medieval and later ploughing, along with deeper truncation caused by post-medieval ironstone quarrying.