The site is ‘radically changing our understanding of whole landscapes around Northampton’
A “highly significant” Roman shrine and Bronze Age burial mound has been discovered by archaeologists working on the edge of Northampton. The site is thought to have been a “focal point of ritual and religious activity” for over 2,000 years.
Also discovered at the dig in Overstone included a 2000-year-old leather shoe and the ancient remains of pinecones and walnut shells. Experts working on the team believe the site was once a spring that was used by both post-neolithic man and the Romans as a place for religious ritual.
The dig’s manager says the field was “a highly significant place” for prehistoric man, with later civilisations building on that significance. Another said such finds are “radically changing our understanding of whole landscapes around Northampton”
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The fascinating “ritual landscape” was found by archaeologists from MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology), who were excavating the site ahead of a new housing development, The Atrium @ Overstone, being built by Vistry Group and Taylor Wimpey.
The earliest monument the team discovered was a Bronze Age barrow, a form of ancient burial mound, that would have been built around 2000 BC – 1500 BC (4,000 years ago). This feature would have been part of a wider funerary landscape.
However, unusually when excavated, archaeologists found that the barrow did not contain any human remains – only five empty burial urns. MOLA Project Manager, Simon Markus, speculates: “The fact no human remains were placed within the barrow suggests it may have had a more symbolic rather than functional use.
“It seems very likely this landscape was already a highly significant place for local ancient communities, and those pre-existing associations led people in the Bronze Age to pick this site for the construction of a ritual monument.”
The site was then built on by the Romans, who dominated England between 43AD and 410AD, with “an unusual stone building”. The monument was decorated with elaborately painted plasterwork, possibly a painted ceiling, and containing an underground room.
With no functional use, archaeologists believe it was a shrine, likely associated with the nearby spring. Visitors may have left votive offerings, including coins and other artefacts, although none were found during the excavations.
But the spring wasn’t just for religious worship. Large water tanks discovered nearby indicate the spring water was used for processing crops and other industrial activities. It is even still safe to drink the 2,000-year-old water today.
The bottom of these water tanks provided a final extraordinary discovery – the 2000-year-old organic remains of willow tree blossoms, pinecones, walnut shells, and a complete leather shoe.
RPS Deputy Operations Director, Simon Mortimer, said: “The developer-funded work undertaken across this site, coupled with other nearby recent excavations, is radically changing our understanding of whole landscapes around Northampton. The current residents are part of a long chain of occupation and ownership.”
Victor Idowu, Land and Planning Director at Taylor Wimpey South Midlands said: “It has been fascinating to learn what the team has uncovered at the site. The findings here are not only important within an archaeological context, but they will now also influence the placemaking of the site. As part of the works we will be maintaining the water courses, building upon the ancient significance and symbolism of Overstone.”
Archaeologists are continuing to study and analyse finds from the site, with their focus now turning to the environmental remains, preserved for thousands of years by the sacred spring. Through this analysis they will build a fuller picture of how this important site was connected to the surrounding landscape.