SNN116773 - ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVALUATION REPORT: GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY BY MAGNETOMETRY ON LAND OFF WOODNEWTON ROAD, NASSINGTON, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE

Mr Derek Roberts, on behalf of the Middle Nene Archaeological Group, commissioned Allen Archaeology Limited to undertake a geophysical survey using magnetometry on land off Woodnewton Road, Nassington, Northamptonshire to help inform future excavations for a community project. The work follows on from an earlier geophysical survey in 2017. The site was identified by Derek and Andy Roberts, initially due to a high density of surface finds, recovered during fieldwalking. Excavations in August 2016 and 2017 with volunteers from Middle Nene and Fane Road Archaeological Groups, revealed a large stone built Roman barn and ancillary features, including a corn dryer. A geophysical survey in 2017 demonstrated that the Roman barn was not an isolated monument, and that it lay within a much wider archaeological landscape. The geophysical survey has helped demonstrate that the focus of archaeological activity is situated within the area of the 2017 survey, the northern field of the current survey, and the top corner of the southern field. The current survey identified a large enclosure, with internal features, lying on the northern edge of a possible double ditched trackway. Two small clusters of possible pits were recorded in the southern field, one possibly with traces of a truncated former enclosure. Ridge and furrow cultivation is present in the northern and southern fields surveyed, although on different alignments, suggesting the field boundary separating the two areas likely dates back to the medieval period, if not earlier. The survey has helped identify several archaeological features that would likely prove very interesting targets for the Middle Nene Archaeological Group to excavate in future seasons.