Since 2015 the Middle Nene Archaeological Group (MidNAG), under the direction of Derek Roberts from Pre-Develop Archaeology, have conducted community excavations at Walnut Tree Farm in Yarwell, with permission from landowners David and Anne Fen. Evidence collected by Andrew Roberts, including finds, scatters, and cropmarks, has initiated a project that, season by season, further enhances our understanding of Roman socio-economic life in the Nene Valley.

This small piece of Northamptonshire shows evidence of prehistoric land use superseded by a Roman farmstead, similar to excavations at Orton Longueville in the 1960s.

Part of the site appears to have undergone a major redevelopment phase with the construction of a rectangular building, some 7m wide and 13m long, constructed on trench foundations filled with limestone rubble, from around 120 AD, and another with a herringbone-pitched foundation from approximately 230 AD, indicating occupation ended in the early 5th century.

Our aim, driven by the abundance of pottery and building materials found, is to continue to investigate the site and its economic context. We will conduct open-area excavations and targeted trenching to connect this site to contemporary locations. Accumulated data from palaeobotanical analyses, assessments of artifacts, and categorization of finds, will deepen our understanding of the region’s history and its place in a national context.