Land East of Folkingham Road, Morton, Lincolnshire: Scheme of Archaeological Strip, Map, and Record Volume 1 Report and Volume 2 Figures

Scheme of archaeological strip, map, and record PCAS Archaeology was commissioned by Prospect Archaeology on behalf of Balfour Beatty Homes to carry out a scheme of archaeological strip, map, and record on land east of Folkingham Road in the village of Morton in the South Kesteven District of Lincolnshire. The site straddles two fields to the east of Folkingham Road on the northern extent of Morton. Archaeological remains were encountered in the northwest and east of this site during an evaluation survey conducted in February 2023. The strip, map, and record programme commenced in November 2023 to investigate the features discovered in the evaluation. Two areas were designated for excavation, respectively labelled Area 1 and Area 2. Archaeological features were encountered in both areas with the archaeology being particularly dense in some parts. Only the northeastern and southeastern portion of Area 1 were devoid of archaeological remains. Area 1 and Area 2 are only about 50m apart, however, the historical periods reflected in the archaeology of each area were remarkably different. Features encountered in Area 1 were Late Iron Age with a few potentially dated to the Early Roman period. While there were some Late Iron Age and possible Early Roman features discovered in Area 2, the majority were Late Anglo-Saxon, Saxo-Norman, or medieval. In Area 1 nearly the full extent of a Late Iron Age / Romano-British enclosure ditch and the partial remains of a second enclosure ditch were examined. In association with these were a palisade ditch, an occupation spread, a beam slot, and several waste pits. Extending from the northern to the southwestern limit of excavation was a Late Iron Age linear feature, and running parallel to this was a Late Iron Age to Roman period linear feature, both of which may have been trackways or boundary ditches. The partial remains of a Late Iron Age ring-ditch were also investigated. Additional features examined in Area 1 included gullies, ditches, pits, and post-holes. Archaeological remains in Area 2 consisted of linears, pits, post-holes, a cremation burial, and two possible grave-cuts. The cremation burial was isolated and unurned. It contained the burial of a minimum of one adult individual and was Bronze Age in date. Two enigmatic features resembling shallow grave-cuts were also encountered, one of which contained a silver-plated torc and the other a large quantity of animal bone. Near to the latter possible grave-cut was a pit partially surrounded by a double row of stakeholes. A large east-west ditch and several pits contained Anglo-Saxon pottery sherds and a loom weight, and this is the largest assemblage of Anglo-Saxon finds yet to be discovered in Morton. The remaining ditches and pits were medieval in date, and the slag found in a 13th-century ditch and pit is evidence for a bloomery furnace in the near vicinity. With the exception of ridge and furrow, the latest feature investigated in Area 2 was a 15th-century ditch.