Site and Post-Excavation Data from Multiple Fieldwork Investigations at Land at Castlethorpe Road, Hanslope, Milton Keynes 2018
Cotswold Archaeology, 2021. https://doi.org/10.5284/1086825. How to cite using this DOI
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- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1086825
- How to cite using this DOI
Introduction
A programme of archaeological investigation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology between April and June 2018 on land at Castlethorpe Road, Hanslope, Milton Keynes. An area of 0.33ha was excavated. The excavation revealed four distinct phases of occupation dating from the Roman period until the 14th century. The earliest activity encountered within the site was a single ditch of Early Roman date, running roughly parallel to a palaeochannel, which also contained a small assemblage of heavily abraded Roman ceramic fragments.
A second phase of occupation comprised a series of ditches of 11th century or earlier date in the western half of the area, which formed an enclosure probably extending further to the north-west, beyond the limits of excavation and a set of ditches likely forming a droveway along its eastern side. Subsequently, between the 11th and 13th centuries, enclosures and a pit containing midden material likely to belong to the now deserted hamlet of Green End, situated to the immediate west of the site, were established in the western part of the excavation area. During the 13th and 14th centuries the enclosures were reworked and expanded to the east, with seven ditches aligned parallel with and perpendicular to the base of the valley in which the site was located. These features appeared to follow very similar alignments to those of earlier phases of activity.
A moderate assemblage of medieval finds was recovered from the site, along with palaeoenvironmental evidence, which suggest habitation in the near vicinity. The results of the fieldwork appear to support the theory that the village of Hanslope originated during the Anglo-Saxon period, subsequently growing to the sizeable settlement recorded by the Domesday survey. Evidence for the prolonged occupation of the satellite settlement at Green End, to the west of the site, was also encountered.
