NHER 25154 (Monument record) - Neolithic hearth, Iron Age ditch and Early Saxon inhumation cemetery, Brunel Way

1988. Finds from adjacent building site to north (no further details known).
Wrist-clasp hook plate with stamped decoration.
See description in file.
A. Rogerson (NAU), 29 April 1989.

February 1989 - October 1989. Salvage excavation during building work, and metal-detector finds.
The earliest features recorded during building work were some Neolithic hearths. An Iron Age ditch running north-west to south-east was seen in two footings trenches. From the fill of this feature 17 sherds of Iron Age pottery were recovered, along with fragments of cremated bone and four carbonised ?grains.
Most of the finds and features dated from the Early Saxon period, and included at least 13 Early Saxon furnished inhumations. These remains were all found on the western edge of the site, close to the railway line. According to the excavator, these burials probably represent a large proportion of the original cemetery population, but the cemetery appears to have been neither intensively used nor to have covered an extensive area. The orientation of the graves varied. Two of the graves contained flint packing material seen as lines of stones, perhaps outlining coffins. The grave-goods are typical of 6th-century Anglian cemeteries and included copper alloy brooches, wrist-clasps and tweezers, a pierced Roman coin, amber and glass beads, iron knives, spearheads and shield bosses and an iron key. Traces of textile remains were discovered on a few well-preserved metal objects from five women's burials.
Like many other Early Saxon cemeteries, this site was on high ground, overlooking the Little Ouse River. It may relate to a possibly contemporary settlement on the south bank of the river at Redcastle Furze (NHER 24822).
See (S1) for further information on the Early Saxon remains.
See lists in file.
A. Rogerson (NAU) and E. Rose (NAU), 1989-1990. Amended by A. Cattermole (NLA), 1 August 2008.

February 1989. Metal detecting and stray finds. Context 1.
1 flint blade.
Pottery sherds including ?Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman, medieval material.
Medieval floor and roof tile.
Fragment of medieval gilt bronze ring brooch.
1 Roman coin.
4 medieval coins.
See list in file.
A. Rogerson (NAU), March 1989.

April-May 1989. Metal detecting.
4 medieval coins.
See list in file.
A. Rogerson (NAU), 25 May 1989.

May 1989. Stray finds
Flint leaf-shaped arrowhead, barbed and tanged arrowhead and two flint flakes.
Pottery sherds, predominantly Early Saxon but also some Bronze Age.
A. Rogerson (NAU), 12 June 1989.

June 1989. Further finds from context 1.
Medieval coins.
See list in file.
A. Rogerson (NAU), 17 July 1989.

June-September 1989. Further finds, context 22 (area of cul-de-sac to north-east of inhumation cemetery).
Roman coin.
3 medieval coins.
Roman Hod Hill brooch.
Lead roughout for seal matrix.
Frame of medieval buckle.
Rim of late medieval or early post medieval cast cauldron.
Medieval pottery sherds and 3 fragments of medieval roof tile.
A. Rogerson (NAU), September 1989.

October - November 1989. Metal detecting and surface finds from arable field to north of present development site, context 25.
1 sherd of ?Iron Age pottery.
1 sherd of Roman or medieval pottery.
Upper part of Early Saxon small-long brooch.
Early Saxon wrist clasp.
?medieval lead weight.
Medieval buckle.
6 medieval coins.
See list in file.
A. Rogerson (NLA), 17 November 1989.

1991. Trial Trenching
See NHER 30258 for details of evaluation excavation previously recorded under this number.
A. Cattermole (NLA), 1 August 2008.