Land off Guilsborough Road and Northampton Road, West Haddon: Archaeological Excavation, Recording, Analysis and Publication

An outline planning application to Daventry District Council for new residential development on land off Guilsborough Road and Northampton Road, West Haddon, Northamptonshire was allowed on appeal. A condition requiring a programme of archaeological works was placed on the planning permission. On the basis of earlier evaluation results, an area of was selected for investigation. An Iron Age boundary/enclosure ditch was revealed. Evidence of possible weathered bank material was encountered in one of the excavated segments, suggesting that a bank was located on the western side of the boundary. This deposit also produced a residual flint core of possible late Neolithic date, indicating early prehistoric activity in the vicinity. The pit that had produced middle Iron Age pottery during the trial trenching was fully excavated during the mitigation works, although no additional dating evidence was obtained. A number of undated features - including three post holes and an isolated small pit - may be associated with activity in the Iron Age period. Evidence for medieval/post-medieval ploughing was encountered in the form of NW-SE aligned furrows, which survived on higher ground in the southern part of the site, spaced 6-6.5m apart. Modern remains were represented by wheel ruts and plough scars associated with modern agricultural activity. A shallow ditch encountered in Trench 8 during the evaluation works is thought to be another wheel rut. Archaeological remains were generally shallow and truncated by medieval and later ploughing, indicating relatively poor below-ground preservation.