Northamptonshire Archaeology 40

A Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age pit alignment at Dallington Gateway, Northampton, lay in close proximity to the known Dallington Neolithic causewayed enclosure. The fills of the pits in the pit alignment, and some other features, produced quantities of residual worked flint in excess of the quantity recovered from a pit alignment at Harlestone Quarry, a further kilometre distant from the causewayed enclosure. It is suggested that the presence of this flint concentration in the immediate vicinity of the causewayed enclosure defines a zone around the monument that was a focus for contemporary occupation probably during periods when people had travelled to the area to take part in activities centred on the enclosure, following the widespread interpretation of causewayed enclosures as regional centres for seasonal gatherings. A comparison is made to a possible comparable zone defined by flint scatters found at Northampton and Duston, perhaps focussed on a preferred area for occupation close to both the River Nene and the Briar Hill causewayed enclosure. There may also have been a similar zone around the Cardington causewayed enclosure, on the outskirts of Bedford.

A programme of archaeological investigation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in 2010 at Sandy Lane Improvement North, north-west of Northampton. A total area of 3.6ha was excavated across seven areas. Archaeological remains were confined to the northern and central parts of the site, with settlement mostly concentrated on an area of the Northampton sands either side of the Dallington Brook, which bisected the site. The excavated archaeology comprised a small oval enclosure of possible domestic or funerary character with associated pits and postholes, both radiocarbon dated to the Early/Middle Bronze Age. A Middle Bronze Age cremation burial was associated with a small group of pits at the northern end of the route. A Late Bronze Age settlement comprised two probable roundhouses, associated with two groups of pits, which produced evidence for craft production, including fired-clay loomweights and a perforated stone disc. In addition, a short length of a later prehistoric pit alignment was cut by a trackway of Middle to Late Iron Age date, which was associated with enclosure boundary ditches and pits. There were also Middle Iron Age four-post structures. A later prehistoric boundary ditch towards the southern end of the route may have been contemporary with the Middle to Late Iron Age activity. Medieval and post-medieval features included ridge and furrow, boundary ditches and pits.

MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) carried out an open area excavation on land south of Towcester Road, Old Stratford. A Late Iron Age complex, dating to the 1st century BC to early 1st century AD, comprised a length of trackway flanked by minor domestic settlement. The trackway was later partially blocked, perhaps the creation of a stock control feature, with a new domestic focus immediately adjacent. The trackway eventually fell out of use, although some of the existing boundaries were respected by new boundary ditches, perhaps denoting a shift from pastoral to arable farming. Domestic activity ceased in the early to mid-1st century AD, prior to the arrival of Roman pottery forms. It is suggested that the trackway and the associated domestic settlement was part of a larger Late Iron Age estate. The tight dating is based on a relatively large assemblage of diagnostic Late Iron Age pottery. A few crucible fragments indicate that bronze casting was also practiced.

Barton Seagrave is an outstanding example of a moated medieval manor house with associated fishponds, dams, sluices and supply and drainage channels. Previous finds together with documentary records date the site to the early 14th century but there has been only limited survey and excavation. The medieval village of Barton Seagrave is of uncertain size and location and its relationship to the manor site is unclear. This study has established the form and function of the manorial site, the probable location and extent of the medieval village in the early 14th century and its relationship to the manor. The relative importance of defence, status and topographical factors in locating the manorial site are discussed through research of existing literature and on-site research. Similar factors are considered for eight other similar sites in central and north Northamptonshire to establish the extent to which Barton Seagrave was typical in form and function of manorial sites in the study area.

Remains of a small late medieval stone building of the 14th–16th centuries were probably part of a lost dispersed settlement alongside a hollow-way, as shown on a map of 1727 and as recorded in survey by the Royal Commission (RCHME) in the 1970s.