A SMALL EARLY–MIDDLE IRON AGE ENCLOSURE AT LAND OFF SEAGRAVE ROAD, , Mike Luke and Ben Barker

with contributions from: Corinne Duhig, Holly Duncan, John Giorgi, Mark Maltby and Jackie Wells; illustrations Joan Lightning

Open area excavation on land off Seagrave Road in Sileby revealed a small early– middle Iron Age enclosure, defined by a substantial ditch. Although the enclosure contained a possible roundhouse, the quantity of finds recovered was small, suggesting that the site was associated with seasonal or short-term occupation. The enclosure was situated next to an extensive boundary which, by the Roman period, was used as a trackway. It continued northwards for at least 450m, forming an integral part of an unexcavated Romano-British settlement. The latter appears to have been laid out around another, very similar early–middle Iron Age enclosure. The excavation archive is held by Leicestershire County Council Museum Services under accession number X.A145.2011.

INTRODUCTION Albion Archaeology carried out c.0.4ha of open area excavation at land off Seagrave Road, Sileby, Leicestershire (SK 606 163). The excavation and preceding evaluation were undertaken as a condition of planning permission for a Miller Homes () residential development. The archaeological project was commissioned and managed by CgMs Consulting.

Site description, topography and geology The c.14ha development area was located on the north-west side of Seagrave Road on the northern fringes of the village (Fig. 1). It was former arable land. The open area excavation was located in the south-east corner of the development area where the land was relatively flat at a height of 82m OD. The solid geology is mudstone of the Scunthorpe formation, overlain by deposits of Oadby diamicton (Boulder Clay).

Background The outline planning application (P/10/1660/2) was supported by a desk-based assessment (Northamptonshire Archaeology 2009). The development area was evaluated by geophysical survey (ArchaeoPhysica 2011) and trial trenching (Albion

Trans. Leicestershire Archaeol. and Hist. Soc., 88 (2014) 36 mike luke and ben barker

Mays, S., 1998 The archaeology of human bones. London: Routledge. McKinley, J. I., 1989 ‘Cremations: expectations, methodologies and realities’, in C. A. Roberts, F. Lee and J. Bintliff (eds), Burial archaeology. Current research, methods and developments, 65–76. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports (BAR British Series 211). Northamptonshire ‘A desk-based assessment of land off Seagrave Road, Sileby, Archaeology, 2009 Leicestershire’. Unpub. rep. 09/142. Pollard, R. J., 1994 ‘Late Iron Age and Roman Pottery’, in P. Clay and R. J. Pollard, Iron Age and Roman occupation in the West Bridge Area, Leicester. Excavations 1962–1971, 51–114. Speed, G., 2010a ‘The excavation of an enclosed Iron Age settlement at Hallam Fields, Birstall, Leicestershire’, Trans. Leicestershire Archaeol. and Hist. Soc. 81, 27–75. Speed, G., 2010b ‘Everything in its right place? An unwritten architectural language of late Iron Age enclosed settlements in the East Midlands’, in M. Sterry, A. Tullett, and N. Ray, In search of the Iron Age: Proceedings of the Iron Age research student seminar 2008, University of Leicester. Leicester Archaeology Monograph 18, 27–60. Taylor, J., 2006 ‘The Roman period’, in N. J. Cooper (ed.) (2006) The Archaeology of the East Midlands: An Archaeological Resource Assessment and Research Agenda. Leicester Archaeology Monograph 13, 137–60. Thomas, J., 2011 Two Iron Age ‘Aggregated’ Settlements in the environs of Leicester. Leicester Archaeology Monograph 19, 61–74. Thomas, J., 2013 ‘Excavations within a developing Iron Age and Roman agricultural landscape at Warren Farm, Lockington’, Trans. Leicestershire Archaeol. and Hist. Soc. 87, 85–135. Thorpe, R. and ‘An Iron Age and Romano-British enclosure system at Normanton Sharman, J., 1994 le Heath, Leicestershire’, Trans. Leicestershire Archaeol. and Hist. Soc. 68, 1–63. Willis, S., 2006 ‘The Later Bronze Age and Iron Age’, in N. J. Cooper (ed.) (2006) The Archaeology of the East Midlands: An Archaeological Resource Assessment and Research Agenda. Leicester Archaeology Monograph 13, Chapter 5. Young, R. and ‘Flint use in after the Bronze Age’, Proceedings of the Humphrey, J., 1999 Prehistoric Society 65, 231–42.