Land at Ratby Lane, Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire - Archaeological Excavation Report

Wessex Archaeology

The strip, map and record excavation covered an area of 850 m2 and contained a total of 11 archaeological features: a pair of parallel ditches and nine pits/postholes. Most of the latter appeared to form the circumference of an 11 m diameter circle. What this originally represented is unproven; possible interpretations include a roundhouse, although this is tentative. Only three artefacts were recovered: two potsherds – one Romano-British and one medieval – and a Roman copper coin; none were found in excavated features. Environmental remains were generally sparse and poorly preserved.

The features were sealed beneath an extensive deposit of brownish grey silty sand, which is thought to represent a buried ploughsoil associated with the former ridge and furrow cultivation evident across the site. The historical ploughing activity is likely to have truncated the earlier features and would account for their lack of depth.