Archaeological Evaluation on land at Darsdale Nursing Home, Raunds, Northamptonshire, February 2021

The evaluation comprised the excavation of four trenches dispersed across the site. Trench 1 measured 40m in length, whilst Trenches 3 and 4 measured 20m each. Due to on-site constraints of trees and hedgerows, Trench 2 measured 15.5m in length instead of 20m, as originally planned. Trench 5 was not excavated for the same reasons following the agreement of the NCCAAA. The rationale behind the placement of the trenches was twofold: to rapidly assess the archaeological potential of a wide sample of the site and to target archaeological features identified during previous mitigation works at Darsdale Farm that had the potential to extend into the development site. Trenches were located using a Leica Survey Grade RTK GPS operating to an accuracy of +/-0.05m to Ordnance Survey National Grid. Trenches were machine excavated using a flat toothless bucket 1.8m wide under continuous archaeological supervision to the depth of the first horizon of archaeological remains or, where these were absent, the upper interface of geological deposits. A metal detector was used to aid in the recovery of artefacts from trench spoil heaps and stratified artefacts from archaeological features. The trenches were cleaned sufficiently to enhance the definition of archaeological remains. Features present were further investigated through means of hand excavation to determine their date and character and were plotted on an overall plan at a scale of 1:50 and 1:100. All archaeological deposits, features and artefacts encountered during the course of the excavation were fully recorded following standard MOLA procedures. All archaeological features and deposits were assigned a separate context number and were described on pro-forma context sheets that included details of the context, its relationships, interpretation, and a checklist of associated finds. The archaeological remains found that were identified during this evaluation consisted of a Roman square enclosure Roman in date, and a series of ditches likely contemporary in date, that could form further parts of the settlement found in 2015 to the south (Reid 2015). A modern waste deposit was also identified in Trench 3.