SNN117173 - Buckton Fields Stage 2, Northampton: Archaeological Excavation Report

This volume reports on a programme of archaeological investigation that was undertaken in advance of residential development at Buckton Fields, on the northern outskirts of Northampton. This was the second of three phases of excavation: the initial Phase 1 area to the east, subject of a separate planning application, uncovered little pre-modern archaeology, and since the completion of the works a separate excavation of the northern part of the development area (Phase 3) has revealed associated remains. The Phase 2 excavation encompassed one of a series of shallow valleys that drain into the valley of the Brampton branch of the River Nene from the slightly higher ground to the east. These are mostly dry valleys, but in this particular instance a spring issues from the northern slope, creating a boggy environment that dictated the character of the activities that were revealed by the excavation. At the time of the excavation there was no definable stream, the water escaping along the ground surface toward the river’s floodplain, but a channel that silted over the course of the Iron Age and Roman period produced valuable environmental data to supplement the evidence from the excavated features. No features predating the Iron Age were identified, but the assemblage of struck flint from later deposits contained pieces from a wide range of dates spanning the Mesolithic period to the Neolithic period or early Bronze Age. A backed blade of possible Late Upper Palaeolithic date is of particular interest, since evidence from this period is scare in the Nene Valley region, although a Mesolithic date for the piece is also possible. During the middle Iron Age a farming settlement was established on the plateau within the Phase 3 area that continued in occupation until the late Roman period, to which the remains in the Phase 2 area were related. These began as a sequence of small rectilinear enclosures and pits, as well as a possible roundhouse gully. The animal bone assemblage suggests a focus on cattle and sheep/goat, and dung beetles from contemporary levels within the stream channel indicate that these livestock were grazed nearby, while, somewhat unusually, spelt wheat was the only cereal crop. No remains were found that date from the late Iron Age, when the Phase 3 settlement appears to have been rationalised and did not extend into the dry valley. During the Roman period, however, the valley was incorporated into an enclosed agricultural landscape as the settlement’s farming activities were extensified, with the construction of a ditched trackway, fields and a dedicated crop-processing complex. The latter included a rather complex corndrying oven that appeared to have begun as a standard T-shaped structure before an additional L-shaped flue was added to the south side, while simpler single-flue ovens were also present, as well as a possible malting floor. The settlement’s economy at this time was probably focussed on arable production, with an associated increase in the predominance of cattle. During the middle Roman period, a group of fields on the north slope of the dry valley were merged into a single larger enclosure that subsequently became used for burial, developing into a cemetery of at least 35 inhumation graves and three cremation burials. Grave goods were absent, excepting a copper alloy armlet worn by one individual, but five burials were provided with stone cists and two with wooden coffins, of which only the nails survived. Five individuals had been decapitated, and three of these individuals were buried in a prone position, as were four others, representing a higher than average frequency for both these practices. Modelling of radiocarbon dated indicates that most of the burials are likely to have been interred between the late 3rd century and the early years of the 5th. Other than continued use of the cemetery, evidence for activity during the 4th century was limited to the crop-processing area, and it is uncertain whether the fields and enclosures continued in use or whether there was a change in land use to unenclosed grazing. Following a brief hiatus occupation returned from the second half of the 5th century in the form of a settlement of at least 23 sunken-feature buildings. Occupation was now apparently focussed on the slopes of the dry valley rather than on the adjacent plateau, and it is suggested that the new community chose the location in order to exploit the cleared farmland of the Roman settlement rather than because of any interest in the abandoned settlement itself. The SFBs had been backfilled with refuse that included pottery and much animal bone, including evidence for the manufacture of antler combs. At the end of this relatively brief episode of occupation, the site became peripheral to the local settlement pattern, which was henceforth concentrated on the manor of Boughton, c 1.5km to the north.