SNN1396 - Archaeological Evaluation at Raunds Manor House, Northants

An archaeological evaluation was carried out at Manor House, Manor Street Raunds by the Contracts Section of the Northamptonshire Archaeological Unit in November 1991. A total of six trenches was excavated, a geophysical survey of part of the site carried out and an architectural survey of the Manor House itself was commissioned. Evidence of extensive settlement dating to the Saxon and Medieval periods was recovered. All trenches contained cut features including postholes, gullies, ditches and large quarry pits at depths of only 0.15-0.40m. No structural patterning could be discerned possibly due to the small scale nature of the work. Stratification was generally shallow and without complexity, consisting of turf, top soil and geology with occasional patches of intervening older buried soil, except in the south eastern corner of the site where a sondage revealed a relatively more complex deposition sequence including perhaps a mortar floor. The ceramics recovered during excavation range from Early/Middle Saxon wares to Late Medieval types. A predominance of Late Saxon wares suggests a peak of activity at that time. The presence of Ipswich Ware pottery, albeit in small quantity, in some contexts suggests occupation during the Middle Saxon period ( AD650-850).