An Iron Age settlement to the west of Northampton

Cotswold Archaeology, working on behalf of Bloor Homes, conducted an archaeological investigation of just under 10 hectares of land to the west of New Sandy Lane, Harpole, between 2022-23. The large-scale nature of this excavation offered a rare opportunity to look into not only Iron Age settlement and land-use of the site but the entire past landscape, from the early prehistoric to the medieval period.

The site comprised two excavation areas situated on either side of the Dallington Brook. The excavation exposed kilometres of ditches, hundreds of pits, graves, and a very well-preserved lime processing kiln. Artefact dating links the main occupancy of the site to the Middle to Late Iron Age period (400 – 100 BC).

Mesolithic to Early Neolithic features were also present though exceptionally sparse. These features mostly contained flint debitage, flint cores and flakes from the tool making process, but flint microliths, blades, end scrapers were also recovered. Of particular interest was an example of a leaf-shaped flint arrowhead and a single curved oblique flint arrowhead, both possibly Early Neolithic in date. A single Unstratified later Middle to Late Bronze Age Copper Alloy barbed and tanged arrowhead was also recovered. While a very rare artifact to find, it tells us little of the pre–Iron Age activity within our area of focus. Here more about these finds in our webinar presented by Jo Barker, Grace Griffith and Alex Bliss.

Pit boundaries

On either side of the Dallington Brook, the area was initially divided by two alignments of pits. To the south, there was an east-west alignment of at least 43 evenly spaced pits, which closely followed the brook’s floodplain. To the north, a broadly north-west/south-east alignment of 54 pits was identified, although it did not follow the course of the brook as closely as the southern alignment. This difference may be due to later modifications to the brook’s course, which were likely made to accommodate changing land-use practices.

Very few datable artefacts were recovered from the pits but a radiocarbon date from a waterlogged twig fragment found at the base of one of the pits indicates that our pit alignments were dug sometime in the Early Iron Age (700–400 BC)!

The function of pit alignments in general is not fully understood. It is likely that they marked important boundaries in the landscape and were probably more likely to be symbolic rather than physical demarcations. Due to their location, often close to watercourses and in river valleys, pit alignments are sometimes linked with a spiritual meaning – like the separation of the dead/divine – the water – from people and animals – the living.

Burials

To the south of the brook 19 tightly clustered features formed a cremation cemetery, with at least 11 deliberate cremation burials containing human bone, three of which were likely urned. Radiocarbon dating of two of the burials produced Middle Bronze Age dates. In contrast, three dispersed cremations were identified to the north of the brook. Though the burials appeared very different to those in the south, three radiocarbon dates from the features also produced Middle Bronze Age dates. This raises a number of questions – were these individuals part of the same or separate communities separated by the Brook? Why did the burial organisation differ so greatly? Were they contemporary or not?

Additionally, typical of Iron Age sites, two human skulls were discovered within the upper deposits of ditches.

Middle to Late Iron Age settlement

Over time, this landscape evolved with the establishment of an extensive settlement during the Middle to Late Iron Age, which occupied almost the entire shallow valley of the Dallington Brook. Activity to the south of the brook occupied a north-facing slope and comprised a small, rectilinear enclosure with a centrally located circular roundhouse gully, which overlooked a series of rectilinear enclosures and a droveway. The gully defining the roundhouse contained large sherds of Middle to Late Iron Age pottery.

Surrounding it were a series of associated deep pits with flat bases and near vertical sides, which could have been used for grain storage. Further roundhouse gullies, pits and enclosures were identified on the south-facing slope, to the north of the brook. It was clear a lot of effort had gone it to the establishment of some of the pits, as they had been cut in to the natural ironstone, even displaying tool marks.

The settlement continued to change throughout the Middle to Late Iron Age period, with larger rectangular enclosures appearing, introducing a new system of land organisation. Looking at all the features exposed, it is easy to forget the separation of time between the pit alignments and the latest enclosures, where several hundreds of years are likely to have passed. It is possible that people living in the roundhouses knew less about those pits than we do

The people who lived here were most likely farmers keeping sheep and cattle, with the small enclosures probably used for crops. The livestock enclosures were created gradually, maintained, and shaped to suit the function. The Middle to Late Iron Age artefactual assemblage from the excavation areas was quite small but reflects quite an ordinary, rural Iron Age settlement, mainly consisting of domestic cooking vessels. A spindle whorl was also recovered from a later larger enclosure ditch and may relate to textile production taking place on this site.

Lime kiln

A further phase of activity occurred when the western corner of one of the smaller Iron Age enclosures was repurposed, and a large lime kiln was constructed. The kiln was set into the western slope of a small hill and its flue was perfect for catching the dominant westerly winds. The characteristics conform well with a type of kiln known as a ‘Flare Kiln’. It did not contain any artefacts but radiocarbon dating has produced a mid to late Roman date (circa 230–360 AD) for the kiln, making it one of the best preserved examples in the country.

Since completing the fieldwork in 2023, we have been working on a programme of post-excavation assessment and analysis, where our specialists have been teasing out further insights into the settlement, landscape character and people who lived there in the past.