King's Meadow Lane, Higham ferrers, Northants

English Heritage summaries. 2004/05

Project background

Between August 2002 and March 2003 Oxford Archaeology (OA) undertook a programme of archaeological work on part of an important Roman roadside settlement at Kings Meadow Lane, Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, on the eastern side of the Nene Valley. The excavations were the final part of a longstanding series of archaeological investigations in the area, in advance of a recreational development on 42 hectares of land by the Duchy of Lancaster (DoL).
In addition to a nationally important Saxon settlement, a number of highly significant discoveries were made, including:
• An extensive assemblage of early Mesolithic flint.
• A later Neolithic/early Bronze Age ring ditch with central shallow cremation pit, and an early Bronze Age pit burial containing an inverted collared urn with an associated cremation deposit.
• A middle to late Iron Age settlement, consisting of a series of enclosures with associated ring gullies and other settlement features. 
• A substantial part of a well preserved Romano-British roadside settlement, the data from which forms the core of the current post-excavation project.
Excavation of the linear Roman settlement was undertaken in two phases ahead of development.  The first phase was conducted in 2001, whilst excavation of the majority of the settlement site was conducted from August 2002 until March 2003. Approximately 2.5 ha of the Roman settlement was excavated, revealing 18 buildings which formed a ‘domestic core’, along with outlying enclosure systems and small cemeteries. On the western side of the road, a shrine defined on three sides by a temenos wall was comprehensively excavated. Within the precinct were found hundreds of metal finds, particularly rings, votive leaves and brooches, but also including lead ‘curses’, military fittings, coins and a rare ceremonial spearhead. The late Roman occupation and abandonment of the site is poorly understood at present, although three early Saxon sunken-featured-buildings (SFBs) were present within the excavated area of the settlement. 

Project Aims

The project research aims as derived from the post-excavation assessment are based upon current national and regional research frameworks. These research aims deal with:
• Intra-site organisation and development within Iron Age and Roman settlements
• Economy and control of resources
• Identity
• Ritual practice
• Regionality
• Processes of change

Anticipated results

The Higham Ferrers site lies within a well studied but poorly published archaeological landscape, and the assessment showed the great potential of the project to provide an important synthesis of the known data, while also addressing the research aims listed above. It is anticipated that the result of this project will be presented as an illustrated monograph.

This page was published on 14/06/2005