Cropmarks of possible enclosures, trackways and boundaries of unknown date, on land to the north of Stamford. Identified on aerial photography examined as part of the National Mapping Programme. {1} A series of discrete and linear magnetic anomalies, most of which directly corresponded to the previously identified cropmarks, were recorded in April 2009, during geophysical survey of land at Borderville Farm. This survey was conducted to inform the planning process related to proposed development on the site. The anomalies were thought to represent the remains of irregularly shaped ditched enclosures, a probable hut circle, possible corn dryer or other heat affected structure, field boundary ditches, possible pit alignment, and possible ridge and furrow. The remains were thought to primarily date to the late Iron Age or early Roman period. {2}{3} A subsequent programme of trial trenching was conducted at this site in June 2009. The trenches were placed to gather further information about the nature of the anomalies identified in the prior geophysical survey. The results of the the trail trenching suggested that the area was occupied by an elongated enclosure settlement, which was multiphased, extending from the late Iron Age through to the early Roman period. Domestic rubbish found during the trenching indicated that the activity on the site was related to a farmstead settlement. Finds included small assemblages of late Iron Age and early Roman pottery, and a small assemblage of animal bone (mostly cattle, sheep/goat) dating to the late Iron Age or early Roman period. There was an increased density of finds in the western portion of the area, which may indicate that the focus of the settlement was in that area. {4}{5} Following previous geophysical survey and trial trenching, a programme of archaeological excavation was conducted at this site in October and November 2013. The investigation uncovered more of the late Iron Age and early Roman landscape, bounded by large, parallel, east to west oriented ditches. Between the ditches, excavations revealed an enclosure ditch with a single roundhouse in the centre, and associated agricultural and industrial acitivity. The roundhouse, located on the western edge of the excavation area, had a north-east facing entrance. Four possible post holes were excavated near the entrance in the interior of the roundhouse. At its eastern end, the large, northern boundary ditch was actually two smaller parallel ditches, which join together at some point as it ran west. The western end of this feature was a single ditch, varying in width from 5-6m with no evidence of recuts. It appeared that the ditch was open and in use into the late 2nd century AD, when it was deliberated backfilled. The large boundary ditch on the south side of the area had a maximum width of 4m, and followed the natural contour of the slope. A human lower mandible was found in a small scoop at the base of the ditch, which was thought to be a deliberately buried foundation deposit for the settlement. The roundhouse, enclosure ditch and the large southern ditch were backfilled around the mid 1st century AD, shortly after the Roman conquest. Cut into the backfilled southern ditch was a probable iron working hearth, with a nearby dump of slag and burnt material. To the east of the roundhouse, 3 cross gullies were found, running north to south across the site. A single sherd of pottery was found in two of the gullies, while the third gully contained more than 70% of the Iron Age pottery assemblage for the entire site, as well as a fragment of a late 1st or early 2nd century AD beehive rotary quern. The fills in this gully appeared to be dumped material from the cleaning out of a kiln or similar feature. The gullies originated in the Iron Age, and remained in use into the Roman period. On the eastern end of the excavation area, a quarry pit 7m in diameter and 1.5m deep was uncovered. Its fill contained several sherds of Iron Age pottery. To the south of the quarry, a pit 3m in diameter, surrounded by a halo of heat affected natural soil, was thought to be a possible lime kiln. The remains of 3 kilns were found to the north of the cross gullies, with the largest being the best preserved. It consisted of a roughly circular firing chamber, 1m in diameter and 0.8m deep, with a 1.5m long, 0.4m wide stoke pit. These two chambers were connected by a short length of flue, which was built using flat stones to form an arch. The firing chamber contained 3 flat pieces of limestone that were set vertically to support kiln bars. The second kiln was located to the south-east of the larger one. The firing chamber was 0.9m in diameter and only 0.3m deep. The stoke pit was an elongated oval, which was cut by the third and smallest kiln. This third kiln was 1.4m long, 0.4m wide and 0.2m deep. The stoke pit of this kiln cut that of the second one, and it was thought that it may have been fired at the same time using a combined fire. All three kilns contained sherds of Bourne-Greetham shell tempered ware, with the two smaller kilns also having sherds of Lower Nene Valley Grey ware. To the north of the northern boundary ditch, a single hearth or possible drier type feature was found. It had an elongated keyhole shape, and measured 1.1m long and 0.6m wide. It had a heat affected based, but no datable material or finds were identified. Finds from the excavation include large assemblages of late Iron Age and early Roman pottery, several sherds of medieval and post-medieval pottery, a fragment of a partially vitrified, circular loom weight, other fired clay fragments, a small assemblage of animal bones, and a fragment of a rotary quern. Based on the features and material uncovered, the site was interpreted as a late Iron Age rural settlement with a reliance on agriculture and domestic stock animals. It was thought that the site then transitioned to more industrial activity in the early Roman period, with the construction of the kilns and the iron working area. {6}{7}