Area A, Earls Barton Spinney Quarry, Grendon Road, Earls Barton, Wellingborough, North Northamptonshire. Archaeological mitigation

A second phase of archaeological mitigation, consisting of targeted excavation, took place in the Phase 3 zone of the proposed mineral extraction area at the Earls Barton Spinney Quarry in the Wellingborough district of North Northamptonshire. As Area A lies outside the boundaries of a programme of intrusive and non-intrusive archaeological evaluation carried out in 2003, the scheme of works commenced with an additional programme of evaluation trenching to ascertain its archaeological potential. An area of approximately 800m2 was excavated at the north-western corner of Area A where the evaluation had exposed three intercutting linear features. In addition, the original evaluation trenches were extended (Trenches 1B, 3B and 5B) and a new small trench (Trench 6) measuring 10.00x2.00m was excavated to track the continuation of the linear features exposed in the main area. The excavation areas were opened by machine under archaeological direction to the first archaeologically significant horizon or the natural geology, whichever was encountered first. Archaeological deposits encountered were cleaned and excavated by hand. All identified archaeological deposits and features were sample excavated, in order to establish their form, depth, character, date, state of preservation and extent, as well as to recover artefactual / ecofactual remains for further study. The scheme exposed a total of seven ditches, some of which intercutting, and two pits. With the exception of one ditch recorded in Trenches 5B and 6, all the features were sealed by a c.0.50m thick alluvium layer exposed immediately below the topsoil. This alluvium horizon is likely related to the activity of the nearby river Nene, which runs about 800m to the south of the current site. Alluvial events probably occurred repeatedly as suggested by the characteristics excavated features, which mostly presented 'clean' silty fills that occasionally incorporated waterworn stones. This is also confirmed by the environmental analysis conducted on two soil samples, which reveal the presence of seeds/fruits of common herb species, particularly weed / grassland plants, but no cereal or carbonized evidence that can be linked to human activity. At least four archaeological phases have been identified based on stratigraphic and spatial relationships. The first phase of archaeology is indicated by a single shallow curvilinear ditch exposed in the southern part of the main excavation area. The ditch appeared filled from natural silting and did not produce any dating evidence. It was the only with a curvilinear shape and appeared truncated by a later linear ditch. The second and the most physically dominant phase is indicated by a series of sub-parallel narrow linear ditches that run with east-west orientation through the main excavation area and whose continuation was recorded further to the east in Trenches 3B and 5B. At least four ditches were identified, all converging to the east into a single one, which suggests a series of possible re-cut of the same feature. All ditches had silty fills devoid of artefacts and only occasionally incorporating waterworn stones and grit. The ditches likely represent field boundaries or the edge of a droveway. In fact, even though not perfectly aligned, they follow the same orientation of the ditches recorded in the evaluation carried out in the fields to the west of the current site and which have been interpreted as the southern boundary of a droveway that was re-cut on at least two occasions (Walsh although in the finds analysis there is no mention of pottery from the Trench where the ditches were recorded: see p. 19).