Review – Early Neolithic, Iron Age, and Roman settlement at Monksmoor Farm, Daventry, Northamptonshire

1 min read
Tracy Preece
Archaeopress, £30
ISBN 978-1789692105
Review Edward Biddulph

This report describes excavations by MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) on the edge of Daventry. The archaeology was concentrated in three areas, each remarkably different in character. A late Iron Age settlement defined by roundhouses and small enclosures was recorded in one area. In another, a less dense area of late Iron Age settlement was replaced in the early Roman period by paddocks and larger enclosures. Elsewhere, a square enclosure surrounding a roundhouse, dated to the late Iron Age, was recorded. This may be a defended enclosure of Wootton Hill-type, an uncommon class of feature in the region.

While paddocks and enclosures suggested a predominantly pastoral economy, animal-bone preservation was poor; the keeping of livestock is supported by a droveway, however, and possible fodder or litter among the plant remains. Pottery was largely locally produced and utilitarian, although copies of Continental prototypes hint at some functional diversity.

The report is well written and clearly presented, making a useful contribution to our understanding of the region in the Iron Age and Roman period.

This review appeared in CA 355. To find out more about subscribing to the magazine, click here.

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