Monument record MLI127360 - Farmstead of Iron Age to Roman Date at Mill Farm Solar Farm
Summary
A farmstead excavated at Mill Farm Solar Farm in 2015 was found to be of mid to late Iron Age, to early to mid Roman date. The farmstead comprised large diameter ring ditches, as well as curvilinear features and rectilinear enclosures.
Type and Period (5)
- RING DITCH (Middle Iron Age to Roman - 400 BC to 409 AD)
- DITCHED ENCLOSURE (Middle Iron Age to Roman - 400 BC to 409 AD)
- DITCH (Middle Iron Age to Roman - 400 BC to 409 AD)
- PIT (Middle Iron Age to Roman - 400 BC to 409 AD)
- POST HOLE (Middle Iron Age to Roman - 400 BC to 409 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Full Description
Targeted evaluation excavations were undertaken in 2015 in advance of a solar farm at Mill Farm, recording evidence for what was interpreted as a farmstead. The earliest features on the site seem to be a series of large-diameter ring gullies or ring ditches which may have related to drainage for former roundhouses or to protect thatch from livestock, although no traces of domestic habitation were recorded. The rings varied in diameter between 13 and 21 metres. A small number of pits and postholes were recorded, but were not considered substantial. {1}{2}
The pottery recovered overwelmingly related to jars and was predominently coarse, and ranged in date between the mid to late Iron Age, and the 2nd century with nothing found to suggest Roman occupation from the 3rd century onwards. Animal bones were fairly well represented across the site with cattle being the prominent species, followed by sheep/goat and a fragment each of pig and horse bone. A small quantity of glass, a Colchester-derivative brooch, and four fragments of fired clay including wattle impressions were also recorded. The earlier dating features appear to have been respected and reused by later dating elements which suggests a steady reorganising of the space rather than discontinuous occupation. {1}{2}
The recorded features related well to the geophysical survey which was used to target the trenches, which may partially relate to the shallowness of the features which seem to have been truncated by ploughing. {3}
Sources/Archives (3)
- <1> SLI18523 Report: Wessex Archaeology. 2015. Mill Farm Solar Farm, Grantham, Archaeological Evaluation. WSX Project Code 110580.
- <2> SLI18524 Archive: Wessex Archaeology. 2015. Mill Farm Solar Farm, Grantham, Archaeological Evaluation. LCNCC 2015.174.
- <3> SLI18521 Report: GSB Prospection. 2015. Geophysical Survey, Mill Farm Solar Farm, Grantham. -.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred SK 9496 3109 (315m by 266m) Estimated from Sources |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | GREAT PONTON, SOUTH KESTEVEN, LINCOLNSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (1)
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External Links (0)
Record last edited
Oct 31 2024 4:23PM
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