Monument record MLI87012 - Early Saxon settlement, Grantham
Summary
Two Early Saxon grubenhauser (sunken feature buildings) and associated waste pits and postholes on land at Poplar Farm Primary School, Grantham.
Type and Period (3)
- PIT (Early Medieval/Dark Age - 410 AD to 1065 AD)
- GRUBENHAUS (Early Medieval/Dark Age - 450 AD? to 700 AD?)
- POST HOLE (Early Medieval/Dark Age - 410 AD to 1065 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Full Description
During a programme of trial trenching in 2004, a sub-rectangluar early Medieval pit was encountered. Finds recovered from the feature included a complete multi-handled votive cup, pottery sherds and animal bones, as well as a single residual worked flint flake. {1}{2}
This feature, now identified as a grubenhaus, was revealed in its entirety and excavated during an archaeological strip, map and record in February-March 2017. It measured 3.75m long by 2m wide, with rounded corners, straight sides and a flat base. Finds recovered from its fills included cattle and sheep bone, pottery and charred cereal grains indicative of domestic activity, but also less common finds such as deer and vole bone, and metalworking debris. The pottery was dated to AD450-800, though the feature was probably abandoned by AD700 at the latest. {3}{4}
A second grubenhaus was encountered approximately 50m to the southwest of the first, during a subsequent archaeological excavation in 2018. This grubenhaus was sub-circular in plan, measuring 3.6m long and 2.80m wide, with gently sloping sides. 140 fragments of 5th to 8th century pottery from 40 vessels, 749 animal bones (mostly skull fragments) including roe and red deer and a possible large dog or wolf, two fragments of a broken yellow glass bead, and 15 fragments of worked clay were recovered from the fill. Four pits and two postholes were encountered in the vicinity of the grubenhauser, from which more pottery and bone were recovered. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal from the southern grubenhaus and one of the pits gave date ranges of AD 297-425 and AD 434-534 respectively, suggesting a very early Saxon date for the settlement. {5}{6}
Sources/Archives (4)
- <1> SLI9762 Report: Archaeological Project Services. 2004. Archaeological Evaluation on Land at Poplar Farm, Grantham. APS Site Code: GPF04.
- <2> SLI9763 Archive: Archaeological Project Services. 2004. Archaeological Evaluation on Land at Poplar Farm, Grantham. LCNCC: 2000.110.
- <3> SLI19139 Report: Archaeological Project Services. 2018. Archaeological Investigations at Poplar Farm, Grantham. APS Site Code: GRPF15.
- <4> SLI19140 Archive: Archaeological Project Services. 2015. Archaeological Investigations at Poplar Farm, Grantham. LCNCC: 2015.134.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred SK 8968 3671 (108m by 108m) Estimated from sources |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | GRANTHAM, SOUTH KESTEVEN, LINCOLNSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (3)
- Event - Intervention: Excavation on land at Poplar Farm Primary School, Grantham (ELI14705)
- Event - Intervention: Excavation on land at Poplar Farm Primary School, Grantham (ELI14706)
- Event - Intervention: Trial trenching on land at Poplar Farm, Grantham (ELI5607)
Please contact the HER for details.
External Links (0)
Record last edited
Oct 1 2025 1:05PM
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