Monument record HLN 009 - Iron Age and Roman settlement, Land south of Sparrowhawk Road, Holton

2009: A trial trench evaluation revealed a number of field boundary ditches dating to the Bronze or Iron Age, Roman, and Post-Medieval periods, as well as a scatter of pits and isolated post-holes of similar dates. A large depression or pit of post-medieval or modern date was also recorded (S1).
Excavation, see draft assessment report in HER for details (not HER'd).
2010: An excavation was conducted on land at Sparrowhawk Road, Holton that was focussed on two concentrations of features seen during a previous evaluation phase. The earliest ctivity ws a series of widely spaced parallel ditches and two pits dating to the early Iron Age, including a possible votive deposit of a pot in the base of a pit. In the Middle Iron Age a number of field boundary ditches or enclosures were dug. The main feature of this phase was a large entrance to an enclosure that included possible gate elements. Also dating to this phase were two or three round-houses. In the Early Roman period in the 1st to Early 2nd Century AD, some of the enclosure ditches were re-dug, and new elements were added. A distinct area for rubbish disposal within pits came into use along the eastern edge of the site. The disposal of rubbish continued in this area in the Later Roman period through the second and third Centuries AD, and a track-way and associated ditch were created across the site. The final phase of activity dates to the Late Post-Medieval period, in the 17th to 19th century, with field boundary ditches dug across parts of the site. One of these contained the remains of a demolished Late Medieval building, however this building was not present in the excavation areas. The ditches were elements of the 19th century Upper Holton Farm, and are depicted on historic maps.