Over the winter of 2013/14, ULAS carried out the excavation of a significant archaeological site on land at Glenfield Park, close to the M1 and between the villages of Glenfield and Kirby Muxloe, which lie west of Leicester.  The work was commissioned by Wilson Bowden Developments Ltd. in advance of a large-scale warehouse and distribution centre.

The excavation revealed evidence for long-term landscape inhabitation throughout most of the Iron Age and Roman periods across an area of c. 12ha.  The main focus of interest was a dense c. 4ha spread of settlement remains at the northern end of the site, comprising many roundhouses, enclosures, 4-post structures and pits that occupied the southern slopes of a spur of slightly higher ground.

Part of the site had been revealed in 1993 ahead of a road development, when fieldwalking and excavation by the Leicestershire Archaeological Unit revealed settlement remains dating between the Late Bronze Age and Middle Iron Age. At that time there had been few excavations of later prehistoric settlements in Leicestershire. It was nonetheless clear, from the wider spread of fieldwalking evidence, that the excavated site was only part of a much larger area of occupation concentrated to the east.

The Settlement

The Iron Age settlement was long-lived and occupied a spur of slightly higher and drier ground, resulting in clustering and overlapping of the occupation remains.  Analysis of the plan, and a series of radiocarbon dates, has helped develop a good understanding of how the settlement grew and changed over time.

The earliest activity was an early/middle Iron Age open settlement that occupied the south-facing, lower slopes of the spur.  The settlement was organised into a spread of paired roundhouses, perhaps a combination of living space and craft or food preparation space, and associated pits. It is unclear how many of the buildings were occupied at any one time but up to 4 households could have formed the community in this period.

Slightly later in the middle iron age, C14 dating suggests in the 4th or 3rd centuries BC, the character of the settlement changed dramatically.  The paired roundhouses were reorganised into a spread of individually enclosed households, which occupied a broadly similar space on the spur.  Each new enclosure clearly cut through the remains of the earlier buildings, suggesting that there was a change in attitude from the community, perhaps related to a desire to express household individualism.

The enclosures had been used for depositional events across the settlement, particularly noticeable in the southern entrance terminals of the ditches. Those associated with roundhouses contained large amounts of domestic related finds, much pottery, including several complete vessels and substantial groups, quern stones and burnt bone, as well as metal objects and metalworking debris.

One larger enclosure was located slightly away from the main settlement core, and surrounded a post-built roundhouse with a very different character.  Eight complete or near complete Iron Age cauldrons were discovered on the base of the ditch, making a clear connection between the enclosure and these rarely found vessels.  All the cauldrons appear to have been deliberately laid on the base of the ditch, either in upright or inverted positions, before it was filled in, suggesting that they were perhaps buried to mark the ending of activities associated with this building and its enclosure.

In other areas of the settlement three more complete cauldrons had also been buried; two together in another enclosure and one in a semi-circular gully.  Traces of further cauldrons, including iron rim fragments and circular handles were also frequently found across the settlement, indicating that they had been dismantled before entering the ground.  In addition, fine ring-headed dress pins, an involuted brooch and a cast copper alloy object known as a horn-cap were discovered from different areas of the settlement, further emphasising the very unusual nature of the metalwork assemblage.

Later Iron Age occupation spread out into the wider landscape and was more enclosed than the earlier phases.  A conjoined enclosure system containing a roundhouse occupied the southern end of the main excavation area.  To the north of this, at the top of the spur, was a very large c. 50m diameter circular enclosure defined by a deep ditch that had been recut at least twice.  Both of these later areas were also associated with metalwork deposition, including cauldron remains and other unusual objects.  The ditches in the southern area contained cauldron fragments and a series of complete iron objects including a sword in its scabbard, a spearhead and several woodworking tools.  The larger enclosure contained three clusters of cauldron fragments, mostly consisting of broken rims and handles.  Deposition of metalwork was clearly still an important part of activities on this later settlement, but the way that cauldrons were deposited was different.  In contrast, it seems that it was necessary to bury other objects in a complete condition.

Other Finds

Domestic/Agricultural

A range of iron tools and implements reflecting agricultural, craft and domestic activities offered a picture of what may have consisted of the ‘everyday’ life of the settlement. Unusually however these tools, including chisels, gouges, blades and a sickle, were largely intact when they were deposited, and would seem to have still been usable objects. In comparison to other contemporary settlements in the area, where such finds are rare, the quantity from Glenfield Park stands out.

Weaponry

A complete Iron Age sword and scabbard had been deposited in a flat position within the upper fills of an enclosure ditch on the southern part of the site.  The circumstances of deposition suggest that this was more than a casual loss and it seems more likely that this was a quite deliberate and symbolic burial perhaps relating to the closure of the ditch.  Although further work is needed to be certain, the overall character of the sword suggests it belongs to Ian Steads medium length swords ‘swords of southern Britain type ii’ that are broadly dated to between the later third and later second century BC.

Dress Items

An iron involuted brooch was found in the same context as the main cauldron group. The style of this object is similar to other examples dating between mid-third to early-second century BC. Other finds included two ring headed pins, one of iron and one made of copper alloy. Both are of similar form but the iron one is smaller. These dress items are not closely dated and appear to have a fairly long currency, although some examples have been found on settlement sites in the East Midlands dated to the early and middle Iron Age.

Horn Cap

Horn caps are rare and enigmatic objects with perhaps only around 20 other examples from across the country.  They consist of two cast copper alloy discs joined by a waisted shaft.  The shaft and lower disc are usually hollow suggesting they were originally made to be mounted.  Apart from a recent discovery in Derbyshire, the Glenfield find is the most northerly discovery of this type of object which generally has a southern distribution.  These finds occur in a variety of contexts but their scarcity and the contexts in which they are found (watery places, hillforts or as part of hoards) suggests they were valued objects, perhaps reserved for special deposition, perhaps with a ritual or ceremonial function.