Iron Age, Roman and Anglo-Saxon Settlement along the Empingham to Hannington Pipeline in Northamptonshire and Rutland

Between January 2008 and July 2009, Northamptonshire Archaeology, now part of MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology), carried out a series of excavations along the route of a new water pipeline being constructed by Anglian Water Services as part of a major project to increase the supply of water to new homes and businesses in the south-east Midlands region. Nineteen sites were investigated, dating primarily to the Iron Age, Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods. The earliest remains were a late Bronze Age/early Iron Age pit alignment near Seaton, Rutland. The Iron Age and Roman sites were small rural settlements comprising ditched enclosures, the remains of roundhouses and pits. Settlements were located near Seaton and Caldecott in Rutland and in Northamptonshire at Swinawe Barn near Corby, Thorpe Malsor, White Hill Lodge, Great Cransley and Willows Nursery. A Roman site near Rushton, Northamptonshire may be associated with a villa estate. Other sites included part of a Roman field system at Violet Lane, near Corby, and Roman cremation burials near Gretton, Northamptonshire. The settlements mainly date from the late middle Iron Age, 2nd century BC, through to the 4th century AD, although there was little evidence for direct continuity of settlement between the Iron Age and Roman periods. An Anglo-Saxon cremation cemetery dated to the late 5th century to mid-7th century AD, at Glaston, Rutland, contained 16 cremation burials deposited in decorated and plain urns along with small assemblages of grave goods, often also burnt on the pyre, and including a brooch, glass beads, and fragments of a bone comb and mount. Later features generally comprised medieval and post-medieval furrows from ridge and furrow field systems and field boundary ditches. Table of Contents Contributors Acknowledgements 1. Introduction 2. Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (c.4000-1450BC) 3. Middle Bronze Age to Early Iron Age (c.1450-400BC) 4. Middle to Late Iron Age (400 BC - 43 AD) 5. Roman Settlement (AD43 - AD450) 6. Anglo-Saxon burial and settlement (AD450-650) 7. Medieval and post-medieval field systems 8. Discussion Bibliography Between January 2008 and July 2009, Northamptonshire Archaeology, now part of MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology), carried out a series of excavations along the route of a new water pipeline being constructed by Anglian Water Services as part of a major project to increase the supply of water to new homes and businesses in the south-east Midlands region. Nineteen sites were investigated, dating primarily to the Iron Age, Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods. The earliest remains were a late Bronze Age/early Iron Age pit alignment near Seaton, Rutland. The Iron Age and Roman sites were small rural settlements comprising ditched enclosures, the remains of roundhouses and pits. Settlements were located near Seaton and Caldecott in Rutland and in Northamptonshire at Swinawe Barn near Corby, Thorpe Malsor, White Hill Lodge, Great Cransley and Willows Nursery. A Roman site near Rushton, Northamptonshire may be associated with a villa estate. Other sites included part of a Roman field system at Violet Lane, near Corby, and Roman cremation burials near Gretton, Northamptonshire. The settlements mainly date from the late middle Iron Age, 2nd century BC, through to the 4th century AD, although there was little evidence for direct continuity of settlement between the Iron Age and Roman periods. An Anglo-Saxon cremation cemetery dated to the late 5th century to mid-7th century AD, at Glaston, Rutland, contained 16 cremation burials deposited in decorated and plain urns along with small assemblages of grave goods, often also burnt on the pyre, and including a brooch, glass beads, and fragments of a bone comb and mount. Later features generally comprised medieval and post-medieval furrows from ridge and furrow field systems and field boundary ditches. Front Cover 1 Title Page 3 Copyright Page 4 Contents 5 Contributors 15 Acknowledgements 16 1. Introduction 17 Background 17 Topography and geology 17 Excavation strategy 19 Structure of the report 19 Archive 22 Fig 1.1: Project location 18 Fig 1.2: Land relief and site locations 20 Fig 1.3: Geology and site locations 21 2. Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (c.4000-1450BC) 23 Neolithic and early Bronze Age activity 23 Worked flint 23 3. Middle Bronze Age to Early Iron Age (c.1450-400BC) 25 A late Bronze Age/early Iron Age pit alignment near Seaton 25 Middle Bronze Age to early Iron Age activity at Glaston 25 Fig 3.1: Seaton, the pit alignment in excavation and geophysical survey 26 Fig 3.2: Seaton, the excavated pit alignment 27 Fig 3.3: Seaton, the pit alignment, looking north-east 28 Fig 3.4: Seaton, pit 13 in the pit alignment, looking north-west (Scale 1m) 28 Fig 3.5: Glaston, Bronze Age jar from Anglo-Saxon cremation burial B13 (Scale 20mm) 29 4. Middle to Late Iron Age (400 BC - 43 AD) 31 Middle to late Iron Age settlement near Seaton 31 Gullies 14, 18 and 37 31 Gully 51 31 Pit group (pits 47, 54, 72, 82 and 88) 31 Pits 40, 49, 62, 66 and 69 31 Possible ditches 75 and 84 31 Pits 77 and 80 33 Pits 5, 7, 25 and 30 34 Iron Age ditches and a cremation burial near Thorpe by Water 34 Middle to late Iron Age settlement near Caldecott 36 Ditches 73 and 38 36 Features to the south of ditch 73 36 Pit 44 and posthole 63 36 Pits and postholes to the north of ditch 73 36 Cobbled surface, 78 39 Ditches to the north of ditch 73 39 Middle to late Iron Age settlement at Swinawe Barn, Corby 40 The enclosure (ditches 22, 46 and 92) 40 The roundhouses 42 Other features 44 Late Iron Age ditches near Thorpe Malsor 45 Ditch 18 45 Ditch 52 47 Middle to late Iron Age settlement at Willows Nursery 47 Other features 49 Other linear ditches 49 The enclosure ditches, 15 and 39 49 Finds and environment evidence from the Iron Age settlements: 49 The Iron Age pottery 49 Seaton 49 Caldecott 52 Swinawe Barn, Corby 52 Fabrics 52 Forms and decoration 53 Pottery distribution 53 Chronology 54 The assemblage from Roundhouse B 54 Illustrated Iron Age pottery from Swinawe Barn (Fig 4.20) 55 Thorpe Malsor 55 Willows Nursery 56 Faunal and environmental remains from the Iron Age settlements: 57 Fired clay 57 Seaton 57 Swinawe Barn 57 Human bone 57 The animal bone 58 Methodology 58 Swinawe Barn, Corby 59 Carcass representation and butchery 59 Species representation and diet 59 Animal husbandry 60 Discussion 60 Charred plant remains 60 Swinawe Barn 61 Radiocarbon dating 64 Fig 4.1: Seaton, Iron Age settlement 32 Fig 4.2: Seaton, sections of Iron Age pits 33 Fig 4.3: Seaton, ditch 84, and pits 82 and 80, looking east (Scale 2m) 34 Fig 4.4: Thorpe by Water, Iron Age and later features 35 Fig 4.5: Caldecott, plan of Iron Age settlement (south) 37 Fig 4.6: Caldecott, plan of Iron Age settlement (north) 38 Fig 4.7: Caldecott, Sections of ditches and pit 44 39 Fig 4.8: Caldecott, Iron Age settlement, looking north-east 40 Fig 4.9: Swinawe Barn, Iron Age enclosure and roundhouses 41 Fig 4.10: Swinawe Barn, Sections of enclosure ditch 42 Fig 4.11: Swinawe Barn, Roundhouse A, looking east 43 Fig 4.12: Swinawe Barn, Sections of ring ditches and pits 44 Fig 4.13: Swinawe Barn, pit 83 with animal bone deposit, looking west (Scale 1m) 45 Fig 4.14: Thorpe Malsor, Iron Age settlement 46 Fig 4.15: Thorpe Malsor, Sections of enclosure ditch 47 Fig 4.16: Willows Nursery, Iron Age settlement 48 Fig 4.17: Willows Nursery, Sections of enclosure ditches 50 Fig 4.18: Willows Nursery, ditch 19 and gully 24, looking south-west (Scale 1m) 50 Table 4.1: Seaton, quantification of Iron Age pottery 51 Fig 4.19: Caldecott, rim and base of scored ware jar from gully 36 (Scale 20mm) 52 Table 4.2: Swinawe Barn, rim form quantification 52 Table 4.3: Swinawe Barn, quantification of Iron Age pottery 54 Table 4.4: Swinawe Barn, Pottery distribution in Roundhouse B 55 Fig 4.20: Swinawe Barn, Iron Age pottery (1-7) (Scale 200mm) 56 Fig 4.21: Willows Nursery, rim of a large storage jar from pit 24 57 Table 4.5: Swinawe Barn, quantification of fired clay 57 Table 4.6: Thorpe by Water, quantification of cremated bone 58 Table 4.7: Presence of major domesticates and ungulates for Iron Age sites 58 Table 4.8: Presence of minor domesticates and wild species for Iron Age sites 58 Table 4.10: Swinawe Barn, number of identified bones fragments 59 Table 4.9: Swinawe Barn, animal bone condition and taphonomy 59 Table 4.11: Swinawe Barn, representation of the main domesticates 60 Table 4.12: Swinawe Barn, animal bone species representation (NISP) 60 Table 4.13: Swinawe Barn, charred plant remains, Roundhouse A 61 Table 4.14: Swinawe Barn, charred plant remains, Roundhouse B 62 Table 4.15: Swinawe Barn, charred plant remains, Roundhouse C 63 Table 4.16: Swinawe Barn, charred plant remains from pits 63 Table 4.17: Swinawe Barn, charred plant remains from ditches 64 Table 4.18: Swinawe Barn, radiocarbon dating for Roundhouse B 64 5. Roman Settlement (AD43 - AD450) 65 A Roman enclosure and cremation burials near Gretton 65 The Roman enclosure 65 Roman cremation burials 67 Late Roman settlement at Glaston 65 Ditch 34 65 Roman settlement 65 Roman activity near Seaton 65 A Roman pit at Swinawe Barn, Corby 68 Roman enclosures at Rushton 68 The enclosure: ditches 12 and 21 68 The droveway: gullies 5 and 7 69 Gullies 9 and 17 70 A Roman ditch system at Violet Lane 70 Roman settlement near Thorpe Malsor 70 Earlier features, ditches 61, 63 and 128 and pit 67 71 The major ditch systems 71 Pebbled surface 131 74 The pit group 74 Other pits/postholes 74, 105 and 121 76 Roman settlement at White Hill Lodge 76 A ditched enclosure system 77 Droveway: ditches 35 and 41 79 Roman settlement near Great Cransley 80 Ditch 25 80 Enclosure 1 80 Enclosure 2: ditches 13 and 17 80 Enclosure 3: ditch 11 82 Colluvium 58 83 Enclosure 4: ditch 44 83 The trackway: ditches 40 and 31/36 83 Finds from the Roman settlement: 83 Methodology 83 The Roman pottery from Thorpe Malsor (Figs 5.21-5.22) 85 Ditch 112 (part of ditch system with ditches 72, 139, 117 and 145) 86 Ditch 39 (part of ditch system with ditches 12 and 94, see below) 86 Ditch 94 (part of ditch system with ditches 12, see above, and 39) 86 Selected assemblages: 86 Ditch 117 (part of ditch system with ditches 72, 112, 139 and 145) 87 Ditch 139 (part of ditch system with ditches 72, 112, 117 and 145) 87 Ditch 145 (part of ditch system with ditches 72, 112, 139 and 117) 87 Ditch 150 (north end of site, aligned west-east) 88 Pit 4 88 Illustrated vessels (Figs 5.21 and 5.22) 89 Cross-feature joins 91 Samian ware 92 The Roman pottery from Great Cransley (Fig 5.23) 92 Selected assemblages: 92 Ditch 11, Enclosure 3, southern arm (same as ditch 23) 92 Ditch 17 (Enclosure 2, southern arm) 93 Ditch 23 (Enclosure 3, southern arm, same as ditch 7) 93 Ditch 52 (late boundary, cutting trackway ditches, eastern side) 93 Illustrated vessels (Fig 5.23) 94 Pit 29, Enclosure 2 94 Other sites 94 Roman fired clay and ceramic building material 96 Gretton Road 96 Rushton 96 Seaton 96 Thorpe Malsor 96 White Hill Lodge 96 Great Cransley 97 Roman querns 97 Thorpe Malsor 97 Great Cransley 98 Other Roman finds 98 Glaston 98 Gretton Road 98 Thorpe Malsor 98 Coins 98 Copper alloy objects 99 Copper casting debris 99 Glass 99 Iron 99 Lead 99 Worked bone 99 Great Cransley 100 White Hill Lodge 100 Faunal and environmental remains from the Roman settlements: 100 Human bone 100 Cremation burials from Gretton Road 100 Infant burial from Thorpe Malsor 101 The burial of infants during the Roman period in Britain 101 Animal bone 101 Thorpe Malsor 102 Animal husbandry 102 Carcass representation and butchery 102 Species representation and diet 102 Great Cransley 103 White Hill Lodge 103 Discussion 104 Charred plant remains 104 Thorpe Malsor 104 Pit 4 104 Conclusions 108 Fig 5.1: Glaston, plan of Roman ditch system 66 Fig 5.2: Seaton, plan of Roman features 67 Fig 5.3: Gretton Road, plan of Roman features 68 Fig 5.4: Rushton, plan of Roman ditch system 69 Fig 5.5: Rushton, Section of ditch 21 69 Fig 5.6: Violet Lane, plan of Roman ditch system 70 Fig 5.7: Violet Lane, Roman ditches 15 and 19, looking east (Scale 1m) 71 Fig 5.8: Thorpe Malsor, plan of Roman settlement 72 Fig 5.9: Thorpe Malsor, general view of the site, looking south 73 Fig 5.10: Thorpe Malsor, northern terminal of ditch 12, looking south (Scale 2m) 74 Fig 5.11: Thorpe Malsor, Sections of ditches 117/119 and 79 75 Fig 5.12: Thorpe Malsor, ditch and pit sections 76 Fig 5.13: White Hill Lodge, general view of Roman ditches, looking south 77 Fig 5.14: White Hill Lodge, plan of Roman settlement 78 Fig 5.15: White Hill Lodge, ditch sections 79 Fig 5.16: White Hill Lodge, Roman ditch 44, looking south-west (Scale 2m) 80 Fig 5.17: Great Cransley, plan of Roman ditch system 81 Fig 5.18: Great Cransley, Sections of enclosure ditches 82 Fig 5.19: Great Cransley, plan of Roman well 56 84 Fig 5.20: Great Cransley, Roman well 56, looking south (Scale 1m) 84 Table 5.1: Thorpe Malsor, Roman pottery assemblage by principal fabrics 85 Table 5.2: Thorpe Malsor, quantification of selected Roman pottery assemblages 86 Table 5.3: Thorpe Malsor, ditch 39, percentages of principal fabrics 86 Table 5.4: Thorpe Malsor, ditch 94, percentages of principal fabrics 86 Table 5.5: Thorpe Malsor, ditch 112, percentages of principal fabrics 86 Table 5.6: Thorpe Malsor, ditch 117, percentages of principal fabrics 87 Table 5.7: Thorpe Malsor, ditch 139, percentages of principal fabrics 87 Table 5.10: Thorpe Malsor, pit 4, layer 21, percentages of principal fabrics 88 Table 5.8: Thorpe Malsor, ditch 145, percentages of principal fabrics 88 Table 5.9: Thorpe Malsor, ditch 150, percentages of principal fabrics 88 Table 5.11: Thorpe Malsor, pit 4, other layers, percentages of principal fabrics 89 Fig 5.21: Thorpe Malsor Roman pottery (1-16) 90 Fig 5.22: Thorpe Malsor Roman pottery (17-27) 91 Table 5.12: Great Cransley, Roman pottery assemblage by principal fabrics 92 Table 5.13: Great Cransley, quantification of selected Roman pottery assemblages 92 Table 5.14: Great Cransley, ditch 11, percentages of principal fabrics 93 Table 5.15: Great Cransley, ditch 17, percentages of principal fabrics 93 Table 5.16: Great Cransley, ditch 23, percentages of principal fabrics 93 Table 5.17: Great Cransley, ditch 52, percentages of principal fabrics 93 Table 5.18: Great Cransley, pit 29, percentages of principal fabrics 94 Fig 5.23: Great Cransley Roman pottery (28-37) 95 Table 5.19: Summary of Roman pottery from other sites 96 Table 5.20: Thorpe Malsor, quantification of querns 97 Table 5.21: Great Cransley, quantification of querns 98 Table 5.22: Thorpe Malsor, Roman glass 99 Fig 5.24: Great Cransley, circular copper alloy plate brooch (SF1) (Scale 10mm) 100 Table 5.23: Gretton Road, quantification of cremated bone 100 Table 5.24: Gretton Road, human infant long bone lengths and equivalent ages 101 Table 5.25: Roman animal bone assemblages by size (NISP) 101 Table 5.26: Animal bone condition by bone number 101 Table 5.27: Animal bone taphonomy by percentages 101 Table 5.28: Thorpe Malsor, number of identified animal bones 102 Table 5.29: Thorpe Malsor, representation of bone elements (epiphysis count) 102 Table 5.30: Thorpe Malsor, animal bone species (NISP) 103 Table 5.31: White Hill Lodge, number of identified animal bones 103 Table 5.32: White Hill Lodge, animal bone species (NISP) 103 Table 5.33: Great Cransley, number of identified animal bones 103 Table 5.34: Great Cransley animal bone species (NISP) 103 Table 5.35: Thorpe Malsor charred plant remains 105 Table 5.36: Thorpe Malsor, charred plant remains, pit 4 (1) 106 Table 5.36: Thorpe Malsor, charred plant remains, pit 4 (2) 107 6. Anglo-Saxon burial and settlement (AD450-650) 109 An Anglo-Saxon cremation cemetery at Glaston 109 Anglo-Saxon activity at Rushton 112 Anglo-Saxon pottery 112 Chronology and decorative symbolism 113 Fabric 113 Burial B12 (SF11) 114 Burial B14 (SF16) 114 Burial B4 (SF3) 114 Burial B5 (SF4) 114 Burial B6 (SF7) 114 Burial B8 (SF6) 114 The undecorated urns and other vessels: 114 Burial B18 115 Burial B20 (SF13) 115 Pit 40 115 Pit 48 (SF 17) 115 Burial B7 (SF5) (Figs 6.11, 2 & 6.13) 116 Catalogue of illustrated Anglo-Saxon pottery 116 Field 15:07 (5), SFB 116 Pit 30 116 Pit 32 116 The decorated urns: 116 Topsoil (1) 116 Burial B9 (SF8) (Fig 6.12, 10) 119 Burial B11 (SF10) (Fig 6.12, 7-9 & 6.14 a, b & c) 120 Burial B16 (SF 15) (Figs 6.2; 6.11, 1; 6.15 & 6.16) 120 Discussion 122 Other Anglo-Saxon pottery 122 Ditch 10 (Fig 6.9, 6) 122 Subsoil (2) 122 Finds from the Anglo-Saxon cemetery and other sites: 112 Burial B6 (adult, sex unknown) 123 Glaston 123 Burial B11 (adult and juvenile, sex unknown) 124 Burial B12 (adult, 15-18 years, sex unknown) 124 Burial B13 (adult, sex unknown) 124 Burial B14 (adult, sex unknown) 124 Burial B7 (juvenile, 4-5 years, sex unknown) 124 Burial B9 (juvenile, greater than 10 years old, sex unknown) 124 Burial B16 (adult, probably female) 125 The beads 125 Rushton 125 Fragmentation, completeness and elemental representation 126 Demography 127 Pyre conditions 127 Pathology 128 Sex 128 Discussion 129 Radiocarbon dating 130 Fig 6.1: Glaston, plan of Anglo-Saxon cremation cemetery 110 Fig 6.2: Glaston, excavation of urn, Burial B16 111 Fig 6.3: Glaston, Burial B6, showing the concentration of large bone fragments (Scale 50mm) 111 Table 6.1: Glaston, catalogue of burials and grave goods 112 Fig 6.4: Glaston, decorated urn and cremated bone, Burial B16 (Scale 50mm) 113 Fig 6.5: Glaston, heat distorted glass beads from Burial B6 (Scale 10mm) 113 Fig 6.6: Glaston, worked bone mount from Burial B7 (Scale 10mm) 113 Fig 6.7: Glaston, copper alloy quoit brooch, Burial B14, with heat distorted glass beads obscuring the pin (Scale 20mm) 113 Fig 6.8: Glaston, plain-bodied urn (SF7), Burial B6 (Scale 20mm) 115 Fig 6.10: Field 15:07, miniature pot from sunken-featured building (Scale 10mm) 116 Fig 6.9: Glaston, accessory vessel from cemetery, pit 48 (Scale 10mm) 116 Fig 6.11: Glaston, Anglo-Saxon pottery (1-5) 117 Fig 6.12: Glaston, Anglo-Saxon pottery (6-10) 118 Fig 6.13: Glaston, urn (SF7), Burial B7, decorated with incised chevrons (Scale 20mm) 119 Fig 6.14: Glaston, Burial B11, sherds from decorated urn (SF10) showing stamp motifs: a) cruciform in round field, b) cruciform in cross-shaped field, and c) the S-shaped ‘wyrm’ (Scale 10mm) 121 Fig 6.15: Glaston, the decorated urn, Burial B16 (Scale 50mm) 121 Fig 6.16: Glaston, detail of decoration on urn, Burial B16 122 Table 6.2: Glaston, catalogue of Anglo-Saxon glass beads 125 Table 6.3: Glaston, weight of cremated bone deposits by bone size 126 Table 6.4: Glaston, summary of cremated bone deposits 127 Table 6.5: Glaston, quantification of human bone by element 128 Table 6.6: Glaston, age estimations from the epiphyses, dentition and other sources 129 Table 6.7: Glaston, relative number of people per age group for contemporary sites 129 Table 6.8: Glaston, radiocarbon date for Burial B16 130 7. Medieval and post-medieval field systems 131 A boundary ditch and furrows at Seaton 131 A ditch and furrows near Thorpe by Water 131 A field boundary wall and furrows at Normanton Road 131 A stone drain and furrows at Caldecott 131 Boundary ditches and furrows at Swinawe Barn, Corby 131 Cransley 132 Finds of medieval and post-medieval date: 132 Furrows at other sites 132 Glaston 132 Caldecott 133 Post-medieval floor tiles 133 Swinawe Barn, Corby 133 Fig 7.1: Swinawe Barn, medieval/post-medieval ditch 104, looking north (Scale 2m) 132 8. Discussion 135 Project objectives 135 The late Bronze Age/early Iron Age pit alignment near Seaton 135 The Iron Age landscape 136 The Roman rural landscape 139 The early Anglo-Saxon cremation cemetery at Glaston 141 Medieval and post-medieval field systems 142 Bibliography 143 Maps 147 Back Cover 148 Iron Age,Roman,Anglo-Saxon,Commercial Archaeology,Pipeline,Empingham,Hannington,Northamptonshire,Rutland,Pottery,Bone,Excavation,Survey