SNN1323 - Archaeological Evaluation at Oundle Station Yard, Ashton

An archaeological evaluation was carried out in June and July 1992 of part of the Roman small town within Ashton parish which was later used as the Oundle railway station yard. The work comprised two stages: an initial survey of the former railway station and goods yard to identify the extent of modern disturbance and any potential areas of archaeological survival, followed by the excavation of 22 trenches in order to assess the actual survival of archaeological levels. Cropmarks on three sides of the yard together with large scale, open area archaeological excavation immediately to the south suggested that substantial Roman remains may once have been present. Indeed, during the construction of the railway station in 1845 a series of Roman burials and possible Roman pottery kilns were revealed. Three stages of recent disturbance, however, have greatly affected these remains: 1 Extensive pre 1845 gravel quarries; 2 Construction of the railway line, station (outside the evaluation area) and station yard with associated buildings; 3 Clearance and related drainage works subsequent to the closure of the railway in the 1970s. Recent evaluation has shown the extent of such previous destruction to be widespread and indicates that only small pockets of undisturbed ground have survived. The best preserved area is located between the A605 road and the main office building within the yard. The Roman remains comprise the continuation of a limestone and gravel road with a series of recut side ditches which were identified during open area excavation to the south. A group of postholes at its western edge may denote the presence of a structure, while to the east the truncated remains of a limestone surface together with further postholes suggest that Roman remains were once more extensive. Such features as occurred elsewhere were similarly truncated and left isolated by being divorced from their wider contexts. Beneath the bedding layer of the main railway line a single Roman pottery kiln and its immediate area were excavated. The kiln was perched on a pinnacle of gravel which had been left untouched by a series of deep post-medieval quarries. The lower part of the kiln had a diameter of 1.30m and was well preserved with limestone and mortar walls lined with hard mortar. A baked clay kiln support extended from the west wall towards the flue on the eastern side of the kiln and a group of kiln bars of various sizes was found within the fill of the chamber. Some 22.9 kg of pottery were recovered from the kiln itself. The majority of the material comprises jars and flagons in a fine creamware fabric which had probably been produced in the kiln since a number of wasters and other spoiled pieces were also present. The style of the pottery indicates a date for the kiln in the early second century AD. Three ditches, probably also of Roman date, were identified along the western edge of the proposed development area, but otherwise the absence of other contemporary features is due to post-medieval disturbance which has removed all but the deepest remains.