We’re busy digging in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire as part of the proposed National Highways A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet Improvement Scheme.
So far, we’ve found that people have been in this area for thousands of years, as far back as the Neolithic (c. 4000-2200 BC). However, we've found the most evidence for the life during the Iron Age (800 BC – AD 43) to Roman period (43 – 410 AD).
Across this period we see several small settlements – often made up of just one or two roundhouses – covering the area. They seem to be intensely farming the region during this time and trading among themselves, the wider country, and Europe.
Settlements range in size and prosperity. Some have huge roundhouses and appear to be doing complicated activities like making pottery and potentially brewing beer. Others are very small and we only find evidence of a roundhouse with some pieces of everyday pottery.
These excavations allow us to learn about an entire landscape at once, over a long period of time. Gradually, we are piecing together information and understanding more about what this area was like.
