Iron Age settlement, Coton Park, Churchover

1 An archaeological evaluation of Field 13, Coton Park, Churchover (MWA 8324), recovered evidence of significant later Prehistoric open settlement in the form of circular structures and enclosure ditches over most of the field. Large quantities of pottery, moderately large quantities of animal bone and some iron objects were recovered.
2 The settlement was dominated by the circular ditches that had enclosed former roundhouses, although only in a few instances had any traces of walls or doorposts survived. A total of 25 house sites were identified. Some overlapped, indicating that there had been two or three successive houses on the same plot, and others had small, sub-square enclosures lying adjacent to them. Together they formed an open settlement set within a system of large-scale land boundaries, as represented by a major linear ditch running west-east across the whole site.
3 In general, the pottery from the site corresponds in its range of forms and decorative techniques with pottery recovered from Park Farm, Barford and from Breedon-on-the-Hill. Most of the pottery would seem to be of local manufacture.
4Geophysical survey of the site was carried out in 1997, showing ditches and enclosures representing multiple phases of activity.