Hirst, S. M. and Wright, S. M., eds. (2005). Saxon, medieval and post-medieval settlement at Sol Central, Marefair, Northampton:. MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology).

Title:

Saxon, medieval and post-medieval settlement at Sol Central, Marefair, Northampton:

Subtitle:

archaeological excavations 1998--2002

Series:

MoLAS Monograph

Volume:

Number of Pages:

Biblio Note

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Publication Type:

Monograph (in Series)

Abstract:

Report on a series of archaeological investigations conducted on the site of Sol Central, Marefair, Northampton between 1998 and 2002. The investigations included an evaluation, targeted excavation and watching briefs. Residual artefacts of prehistoric and Roman date were found but no features or deposits could be ascribed definitively to these periods. Possible middle Saxon settlement evidence at the site consisted of a single sunken-featured building. Activity intensified in the late Saxon to Norman period, with indications of metalworking, crop processing and bone working taking place at the site. A number of buildings suggest and expansion to the northeast of the main Saxon settlement around St Peter's church and a gradual spread towards the limits of the town. A cemetery was established in the southeast corner of the site during the tenth century. Seventy-two burials belonging to this cemetery, which was associated with the chapel of St Martin in the twelfth century, were excavated, including three double inhumations, one inhumation with a stone head support, and one juvenile prone burial. During the medieval period occupation of the area continued to develop, with further evidence for buildings discovered. Domestic and industrial activity also continued to intensify, as shown by pits and the presence of hearths and smithing debris. The cemetery continued in use until approximately the mid-thirteenth century. Masonry buildings were introduced after the Norman Conquest and a proliferation of small industries took place. By the fourteenth century the route of Pike Lane was established and property boundaries defined. The site exhibited evidence for metalworking, cereal processing, animal husbandry and butchery, and the presence of tanning on a small scale. The area declined during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and the majority of the site was covered in a cultivation soil. Documentary and cartographic evidence suggests that resettlement began again in the late medieval to early post-medieval period, but much of these deposits was truncated. Fragmentary evidence for post-medieval buildings was revealed. The redevelopment of some buildings along Marefair during this period may relate to the fire of 1675 which destroyed much of this area, although features were extensively truncated by the modern development of the site and by general site clearance. A watching brief to the west of Doddridge Street revealed thirty-nine eighteenth- to nineteenth-century burials associated with the cemetery of the chapel of Castle Hill. One of the bodies had been subjected to an autopsy before burial. To the south of the cemetery lay a post-medieval malting kiln and early-nineteenth-century buildings. Includes French and German summaries, and a CD-ROM containing appendices on the documentary sources; flint; ceramic building material; pottery; accessioned finds; slag; plant remains; animal bone; human bone; and radiocarbon dating.

Author:

Pat Miller
Tom Wilson
Chiz Harward

Editor:

Susan M Hirst
Susan M Wright

Publisher:

MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology)

Year of Publication:

2005

ISBN:

1 901992 57 8

Locations:

Location - Auto Detected:	Doddridge Street
Location - Auto Detected:	St Martin
Location - Auto Detected:	St Peters
Location - Auto Detected:	Pike Lane

Subjects / Periods:

Saxon Medieval (Auto Detected Temporal)

Saxon (Auto Detected Temporal)

Late Saxon To Norman (Auto Detected Temporal)

Prehistoric (Auto Detected Temporal)

Medieval (Auto Detected Temporal)

Fourteenth Century (Auto Detected Temporal)

Middle Saxon (Auto Detected Temporal)

1675 (Auto Detected Temporal)

Midthirteenth Century (Auto Detected Temporal)

Norman Conquest (Auto Detected Temporal)

Sixteenth Centuries (Auto Detected Temporal)

Postmedieval (Auto Detected Temporal)

Tenth Century Seventytwo (Auto Detected Temporal)

Early Postmedieval (Auto Detected Temporal)

Roman (Auto Detected Temporal)

Source:

BIAB (The British & Irish Archaeological Bibliography (BIAB))

Relations:

URI:	http://www.museumoflondonarchaeology.org.uk/English/Publications/

Created Date:

14 Aug 2008