A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire: West of Ouse Landscape Block Archaeology Report, Specialist Reports: Finds

Fieldwork: The total excavated area in the West of Ouse landscape block covered 19.3ha and the results of the geophysical survey and trenching evaluation were used to define the three targeted excavation areas (TEAs): TEA 14, TEA 15 and TEA 16. TEA 14 was machine stripped and hand excavated between October 2016 and January 2018. A small area within TEA 14 was not excavated, the north-east part of an old water main, as it was not impacted by construction. To the east, the majority of TEA 15 was stripped and excavated in stages between October 2016 and March 2018. A small triangle, 0.2ha, to the west of the site was excavated later in two phases between the 21st of September and 5th of October 2018, and the 8th-22nd January 2019. The land adjacent to the B1514 in TEA 15 was found to be contaminated by a former fuel depot. TEA 16 was machine stripped and hand excavated in various stages between November 2016 and June 2018 with an additional 0.3ha area to the north excavated from the end of March to the 9th of May 2019. A metal detector survey was carried out across all areas post-stripping. All works were undertaken in accordance with the Written Scheme of Investigation (Atkins CH2M 2016). Post-excavation: The preliminary grouping and stratigraphic sequencing of features presented in the Post-Excavation Assessment report (MHI 2019a) is superseded here. Stratigraphic information recorded on site has been complemented by the pottery and radiocarbon dates to provide a more detailed understanding of the chronology of the archaeology within the West of Ouse Landscape Block. In this report, archaeological features have been grouped and assigned to periods using standardised terms and numeration in line with scheme-wide methodology for the stratigraphic analysis using QGIS (MHI 2020). Chronological periods referred to in this report are based on the established period divisions used in Cambridgeshire and beyond and in consultation with our pottery specialists. Where necessary, some features have been sub-grouped to provide a more detailed understanding of specific features. Many features have also been assigned to a 'land use' and/or settlement which has enabled detailed analysis and comparisons of archaeological sites across the landscape blocks. The West of Ouse landscape block comprised three Targeted Excavation Areas (TEAs) covering 20 hectares spread over 1.5km on the river terrace that descends into the valley of the River Great Ouse to the south of Brampton (Figure 1). The archaeological features uncovered indicate earlier prehistoric movement along the river terrace, Bronze Age monuments and burials, Iron Age activity, extensive Roman settlement and Anglo-Saxon structures (Figure 4). These were overlain by the medieval furrows and truncated by the post-medieval and modern boundaries which enclosed the landscape. There is a distinct change in the nature of the archaeology towards the river, with later settlement (largely Roman) focused in TEA 14 to the west, whereas TEA 16 to the east was dominated by the Bronze Age barrow. The excavations revealed earlier prehistoric activity located adjacent to the River Great Ouse with an oblong Neolithic monument (Monument 1) overlain by a circular Bronze Age Barrow (TEA 16, Figures 4 and 7). The Barrow (Monument 2) comprised a mound surrounded by a deep ring-ditch. A group of six cremations were deposited in the early Bronze Age with funerary activity continuing into the middle Bronze Age when a significant cremation cemetery, comprising 51 cremation burials, was cut into the southeastern quadrant of the mound. The artefactual, environmental and osteological analysis along with the Bayesian modelling of the radiocarbon dates has provided insights into population and burial practices.

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