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REVIEW BY ADAM SUTTON
Thanks to the Raunds Area Project of the 1980s and 1990s, the site discussed in this volume is located in one of central England’s most intensively studied archaeological landscapes. The developer-funded excavations reported on here, carried out by Oxford Archaeology (East) between 2013 and 2018, still contribute significantly to our understanding of this rich landscape.
The prehistoric remains around Raunds are some of the most significant in the Midlands, with the Raunds Area Survey having uncovered a nationally important Neolithic/Bronze Age monumental landscape. The Warth Park excavations permitted renewed investigation of the double-ditched enclosure known as Cotton ‘Henge’. Although dating evidence is limited, excavation reveals that the ‘henge’ consisted of several phases, beginning as a Neolithic enclosure with a subsequent early Bronze Age round barrow at its centre.
The region’s Iron Age and Roman landscapes are equally significant. The nearby Iron Age and Roman site at Stanwick is of national importance, and the remains at Warth Park reflect more rural settlement in its hinterland. Notably, the site produced a regionally important pottery assemblage (500-300 BC), transitional between early and middle Iron Age traditions. In the Roman period, the site hosted features such as a pottery kiln, corn dryer, burials, and six stone-lined wells. The latter produced exceptional finds, including a rare carved wooden arm. The discussion puts all of the finds into context, with sections dealing with the agricultural economy, ritual and funerary practices, and the site’s regional significance.
The site’s Anglo-Saxon archaeology fills a chronological gap in the region’s settlement record. Overlying the Roman settlement, evidence from the 5th to 8th centuries includes 12 sunken-featured buildings, enclosures, and two pits with a mixed assemblage of Roman and Saxon ceramics. These finds provide particularly intriguing, if enigmatic, evidence of continuity between the Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods.
This volume provides a thorough and insightful analysis of the site’s significant multi-period archaeology. Particularly welcome is the extent of discussion and interpretation, which successfully highlights and enhances the significance of the findings.
Cotton ‘Henge’ to Craft: Neolithic to Anglo-Saxon remains at Warth Park, Raunds, Northamptonshire
Louise Moan and Lawrence Billington
Oxford Archaeology, £20
ISBN 978-1907588167
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