And with the Ermine Street passing a few miles to the west there may well have been a Roman settlement nearby.
The 'Hanworth' part of the village name derives from the Old English meaning "Hana's" homestead, while the 'Potter' prefix refers to local medieaval potteries.
However, these two ancient elements only became one word in the 1940s.
Close by is the hamlet of Potterhanworth Booths, a 'booth' being a temporary settlement near summer pastures, typical of this low-lying area.
Another unusual local dialect word is 'Barff', a hill beside low ground, again an apt topographical description.
Architecturally, the church dominates most villages, but at Potterhanworth it is a massive water tower that draws the eye.
Built in 1903 it draws water from local boreholes and is an early example of a public water supply.
Across the road stands St Andrew's.
Although a church has existed here since before Norman times, the present tower is C14th and the rest dates mainly from an 1856 rebuilding.
On the nearby green is a colourful village sign and the war memorial is on Stocks Hill.
Opinion is divided over the Car Dyke which, from Cambridgeshire, covers 76 miles before joining the Witham and providing a route via the Fosse Dyke to the Trent, the Ouse and so to York.
Was it a Roman canal built to transport supplies? (an explanation strongly championed by William Stukeley, the C18th antiquarian from Holbeach).
Or was it simply a drainage system?
It closely follows the five-metre contour and so could well have been designed to divert water away from the low lying fens.
Then again, bearing in mind Roman engineering ingenuity, perhaps it was both!
In the vicinity of the Car Dyke (seen on the walk) there are extensive views towards Bardney, Woodhall Spa and the Wolds.
The Domesday Book recorded large areas of woodland around Potterhanworth and some of these remain today.
Together with surrounding fields and hedgerows they provide contrasting wildlife habitats, so there is always something interesting to see.
Our walk passes through Potterhanworth Wood.
Start in Potterhanworth village.
Parking space is limited so be considerate, but try Barff Road or Middle Street near the shop.
The walk is 3.5 miles (5.5 kilometres) long and appears on OS.Landranger map 121 (Lincoln) or Explorer 272.
For refreshment there is The Chequers in Potterhanworth.
Alternatively try The Plough at Potterhanworth Booths, only a few minutes' drive away or reached by a short extension to the walk (see route instructions).
Paths through Potterhanworth Wood may be muddy after rain.

THE WALK: Go down Barff Road, noting the chapel on the left; the footpath beside it is our return route.
Continue to the edge of the village and take the footpath on the right across pasture to a fence corner, keeping forward with the fence to your left towards the narrow, far end of the field.
Cross a stile, a footbridge and a small arable field to meet a farm track.
Turn left, staying on the track through a double bend until a signed footpath bears right along a grass track.
At a waymark turn right again, beside woodland (Neville Wood) and, keeping outside the trees, bear first right, then left to reach a road.
Turn left.
When the road bends right keep forward on another track that soon crosses the Car Dyke.
In a further 150 yards take the bridleway going left, rejoin the Car Dyke and continue to a road.
Keep forward on this until it bends right then stay beside the Car Dyke again until a footbridge crosses it on your left.
(To walk to the Plough Inn at Potterhanworth Booths keep forward here for half a mile to the B1190 road, joining it opposite the inn. Return the same way to the footbridge.)
Cross Car Dyke into Potterhanworth Wood and always keeping directly ahead, partly on a path and partly on a track, walk to the far side and exit via a kissing gate and footbridge.
Now turn right, but only for a few paces, then go left beside a ditch, shortly to turn left over a small footbridge.
Cut a field corner to a hedge gap and walk along the right hand edge of the next field until it begins to slope away, then zig-zag first right, then left down to another footbridge by a lake.
From it walk up to a fence and kissing gate seen on the skyline, cross a track and keep ahead to another gate in a hedge corner.
Press on through more meadows, and kissing gates, until you pass a tennis court.
Then veer left, joining Barff Road at the chapel.
Turn right back into Potterhanworth.