periods (such as medieval ridge and Links with other projects Find out about CLASP Community Landscape Archaeology Survey Project | Community Landscape Archaeology Survey Project | Community Landscape Archaeology Survey Project furrow) to be separated and CLASP is involved in many other If you found this leaflet interesting, displayed in different colours. long-term projects. and think you might like to work Further fieldwork in the Lactodorum + At Whitehall Farm, a Roman villa with a friendly group, and get hinterland area will include surveys site close to Watling Street (in healthy exercise whilst making a of this type — and it is hoped that a Nether Heyford parish), CLASP serious contribution to professional wealth of detail will gradually be spent 13 years excavating the villa archaeology, you should consider revealed, to complement the initial site. The focus is now on preparing joining CLASP! results obtained by field-walking . for publication what has been CLASP is always keen to welcome Ongoing work learned; new volunteers. New projects are The hinterland of Towcester, Roman to medieval: + At Bannaventa, a Roman posting regularly planned and executed, The fieldwork carried out so far on Collecting and assessing the evidence of fieldwork the Lactodorum hinterland is stationandsmalltownon knowledge is shared, and training in essential groundwork, but not by Watling Street, CLASP's ongoing fieldwork and archaeological any means the complete exercise. fieldwork has recovered tens of computing skills is given in a friendly thousands of potsherds and environment. The aim of this initial stage of work thousands of coins and other Key to symbols and locations Project methodology has been to establish the locations Watling Street artefacts, and over 50 hectares of 1 For more details, contact CLASP at Main R-B sites Creation of a 'context framework' as and approximate date ranges of a the site and the surrounding area 2 1 Nun Wood Easton Neston a basis for analysis was the first whole series of Roman period sites http://www.claspweb.org.uk. 2MillLane StokeBruerne 4 have been mapped in detail by 3 Stoke Gap Stoke Bruerne a 3 in the Lactodorum hinterland, 4 Anglia Sewer Stoke Bruerne challenge, aiming to establish the magnetometer; 5 Grafton Way Greens Norton 5 6 Mileoak R-B villa Abthorpe b location and nature of focal areas of providing a solid foundation for 7 Forty Butts Paulerspury + At Barby Hill, near Rugby, a CLASP 8 Burcote Court Towcester further future fieldwork. 9 Burcote Farm R-B villa Towcester R.Tove settlement: team spent 4 years surveying a 10 Burcote Wood 1 Towcester Lactodorum 11 Park Farm Paulerspury 6 12 Bradlem Pond Whittlebury c + Desk-based assessment surveyed After 25 years of popular television large Iron Age hilltop settlement, 7 8 Secondary R-B sites h i data sources including maps, programmes on archaeology, the mapping its extent, excavating 9 e a Bairstow’s Lodge Towcester d impression may have been created test-trenches in selected b Cappenham Bridge Shutlanger aerial photography, crop marks, c Towcester Vale Field 2 Towcester 10 d Towcester Vale Field 13 Towcester and archaeological reports; that three days of fieldwork is locations, and collaborating with e Towcester Vale Field 11 Towcester f Whittlebury Deer Park Whittlebury + Collecting oral/word-of-mouth sufficient to solve any Cotswold Archaeology who were gOldTunCopse Whittlebury hAlderton GraftonRegis Alchester Road 12 archaeological problem! As this also involved in excavating part of i Grafton Manor Grafton Regis 11 information from a variety of f sources including land owners, present leaflet indicates, the true the site; g situation is normally very different + CLASP provided the input for farmers and archaeologists; In the 'Local People: Local Past' it was more fully developed as an — and successful interpretation of Northamptonshire, to the Iron + Extensive field-walking surveys project, CLASP provided an urban centre, located alongside a the historic landscape is often the Age Hillforts Atlas project, led by mapped surface scatters of overview of the general major river and at the junction of result of a great deal of patient study the Institute of Archaeology at potsherds, providing a basic development, the nature of major Roman roads. Some and careful data-gathering. Oxford University This work Brief explanation of story title time-line for each site, and for settlement and the character of differences might therefore be included a detailed analysis of studying the distribution of The initial studies summarised in Romanisation of a 148sq.km area of expected in the development of the Northamptonshire’s Iron Age goods across the area; and this leaflet have already revealed central Northamptonshire, adjacent hinterland. + A single geophysics survey also some differences between hillforts, with new insights into between the Roman posting The community appears to have allowed archaeology below settlement within the hinterland of the functions and interactions stations at Bannaventa (Whilton) developed during the early stages of ground to be integrated with the Lactodorum and settlement in the between these enigmatic early and Lactodorum (Towcester) on the Roman conquest as a significant evidence from one field survey, wider area covered by CLASP’s ‘Local beacons in the landscape; and Watling Street, extending eastward adminstrative centre, with 'ribbon providing a backdrop against People: Local Past’ study. + At Thrupp Grounds — a medieval towards a third Roman 'small town' deserted village site in modern Thanks to CLASP’s member Brief explanation ofdevelopment' story title along the principal which to interpret surface scatter. Ongoing work will focus on more near Duston (Northampton). Norton parish — CLASP is organisation Towcester & District Roman roads well beyond the detailed study of the sites that have Within this larger area, a separate carrying out longterm fieldwork, Local History Society for their work centre. In the last quarter of the 2C been identified, aiming to validate fieldwork survey was undertaken to aiming to build up a picture of the in researching this study and AD the town was radically altered by the early indications from this initial study the development of the evolution of this site, from its supporting the production of this Brief explanation ofconstruction story title of a large defensive survey work and to extend the level hinterland around Lactodorum earliest days in the Roman printed record. A full list of CLASP’s town ditch (23m wide in places, and of detail . (Towcester). period, through the Danish charitable donors may be found on up to 1.8m deep), with a bank and period and into the Middle Ages. our website. The posting station at Lactodorum wall, which cut through the suburbs, Briefdiffered in significance explanation from those at ofisolating story areas title of settlement to the Bannaventa and Tripontium, in that south and west. Community Landscape Archaeology Survey Project | Community Landscape Archaeology Survey Project | Community Landscape Archaeology Survey Project Community Landscape Archaeology Survey Project | Community Landscape Archaeology Survey Project | Community Landscape Archaeology Survey Project The survey area second most common main pot + A significant assemblage of sherds dateable N to the late 16th and early 17th centuries was The landscape of the Lactodorum type, which suggests that the grey recovered from the site, consistent with the ware kilns were accessible to this 1608 map. hinterland project is broadly + The site also yielded a focus of Roman period composed of two geological soil area, but that consumption of Burcote Wood 1 sherds. pottery here by the 2C/3C AD may + In this example, reoccupation of the earlier environments: site was probably due to the presence of a be declining by comparison with spring of water 150m to the north . + Heavy clay, mainly located on the the other two areas. higher upland elevations In the Bannaventa hinterland, (accounting for 45% of the survey with 55% grey wares, large-scale 150m OD Alluvium area); and 120m OD Boulder Clay 90m OD Northampton Sand villa estates were appearing in the Grafton Estate + The more permeable soils of the 60m OD Marlstone Rock Burcote Wood 1 Upper Lias Clay 3C AD, and its availability may intermediate valley slopes (48% Middle Lias Clay Comparison of details on early estate Limestone account for the larger percentage maps (that on right dates from 1608) with of the total survey area). Miscellaneous accurate OS maps (the map above is from of grey wares in that area. 1900) allows potential sites to be short- These two areas contain all the Scale (kilometres): n Shelly wares (all RB periods): listed for fieldwork survey. settlement sites. There is also a 0 4 8 In the Bannaventa and Reproduced by permission of the smaller zone of alluvial deposits Lactodorum, areas, 10% of the adjacent to the water courses Relief map (L) and geological map (R) of the survey area total is shelly ware, whereas at Early maps reveal potential flowing through the area. ‘witlanbyrig’, a probable Saxon burh sites for investigation Raunds it is 30%. This simply andsiteofaroyalSaxonwitan,with The hinterland project involved a n At the other end of the scale, a Desktop survey & field-walking indicates that Raunds was closer possible continuity of occupation Geophysical survey huge amount of documentary small Roman period site was The desktop survey and field- to the centre of production, while here over a very long period. Once