Bronze Age Barrow and Pit Alignments at Upton Park, South of Weedon Road, Northampton

MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) was commissioned by RPS Group PLC to undertake archaeological work on land at Upton Park, Northampton. Two adjacent palaeochannels dated to the Pleistocene period were found, and the earliest evidence of human activity consisted of a background scatter of Neolithic flint. Parts of two late Bronze Age/early Iron Age sinuous pit alignments were recorded over 0.5km within the site, with 257 pits revealed. This is the first time in the county since Wollaston Quarry in the 1990s that pit alignments have been seen over such a distance within a single planning application. The archaeological excavation of these has resulted in them being by some distance the two most examined pit alignments in the county, if not the region. A Roman trackway lay within the western part of the development area, and medieval drainage ditches and field systems related to part of the medieval settlement of Upton lay within the eastern part of the development area.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 116 pages
Publication date: 26 October 2023
Publisher: Archaeopress

The Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) was commissioned by RPS Group PLC, on behalf of Morris Homes, to undertake archaeological work on land located at Upton Park, south of Weedon Road, Northampton.

Two adjacent palaeochannels traversed the western portion of the site, suggesting they were likely from the Pleistocene period. The earliest evidence of human activity consisted of a scattered distribution of Neolithic flint. The first notable feature was an isolated barrow, which likely dates to the early Bronze Age. A subsequent unurned cremation was discovered within the backfill of the recut ditch, and it was radiocarbon dated to the end of the early Bronze Age or the beginning of the middle Bronze Age. At least one isolated early Bronze Age pit was also identified in a different area of the site.

Over a distance of approximately 0.5km within the site, parts of two late Bronze Age/early Iron Age sinuous pit alignments were recorded, with approximately 257 pits revealed. An estimated 66% of these pits by volume were examined, marking the first instance of such a long pit alignment within a single planning application in the county since Wollaston Quarry in the 1990s. The archaeological excavation of these alignments has resulted in them being by far the two most examined pit alignments in the county, if not the region. While it is likely that they ceased to be used by the early Iron Age, a middle Iron Age date should not be ruled out entirely.

In the northern and southern pit alignments, 16 and seven areas, respectively, exhibited distinct variations in pit characteristics, such as circular or rectangular plan forms (and some pit areas had been recut by ditches), indicating the potential construction and maintenance by different gangs/communities over a span of hundreds of years.

Unfortunately, relatively limited detailed work has been documented in this excavation.

Weight: 440g
Dimension: 205 x 290 x 9 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781803276229