Northamptonshire Advertiser, 14^th August 1964

Laurie & Maureen

At Podington - GUIDED only by the chance discovery of a handful of Roman coins and the general colour pattern of a field of hay, two local amateur archaeologists have hit the remains of what appears to be a Roman farmhouse on their first trial trench.

The archaeologists are 22-year-old Laurie Steel, 116 Queen Street, Rushden, and 20-year-old Maureen Mc­Carthy, 117 Gold Street, Wellingborough. They have un­earthed the Roman site at Hall Farm, Podington.

So far Laurie and Maureen have uncovered the foundations of a wall and have hopes of finding part of a mosaic floor.

"We hope to be able to dig here until the end of September and we have plans for three or four more trenches," Laurie said.

"It is much too early yet to say what we may have found, but what we have un­earthed would seem to suggest third or fourth century, which ties in with the general pattern of Roman remains locally.

"At this stage I would think this was the site for a farmhouse."

Laurie and Maureen, who have been interested in archaeology since they were youngsters, have had their eye on this Hall Farm site for almost two years.

"Somebody told me that Roman coins had been found in the field. I came up to have a look and noticed the light colour of some of the hay. It formed a definite pattern.

Stonework

"The light colour indicated that there was stonework underneath. The root of the crop was not getting as much moisture as in other parts of the field." Laurie explained.

Another point in favour of there being Roman remains in the field is the stream, which winds through the valley, making it an ideal site for a Roman encampment.

Laurie and Maureen hope to join a local archaeological society in the near future.