Highways Agency

Roads to the Past: Trunk Roads and Archaeology - 1999 report

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES INVESTIGATED

FOREWORD

I am very pleased to be able to introduce this booklet, the third in a series which reviews the archaeological work carried out by the Highways Agency.

The Agency maintains, operates and improves a network of some 6,500 miles of motorways and trunk roads in England. When road improvements are being made, it is responsible for recording and preserving the archaeological heritage which is uncovered, recording and preserving the remains as part of its commitment to the environment.

In the period under review, 1996 to 1998, some exciting discoveries were made. For instance, the bones of a lion and a giant ox were uncovered in Essex and special sandals used by the Romans on the feet of injured horses were found in Gloucestershire. Archaeology is not all ancient; one fascinating excavation took place at a former second world war gun battery and prisoner-of-war camp in Lancashire.

But although major finds tend to take the attention, a vast amount of valuable work is done which does not produce memorable artefacts. The patient work of archaeological specialists employed by the Agency, as they dig and sift, produces fascinating evidence of how people in England lived and worked in the past.

The Agency now has archaeological reports covering more that 600 miles of motorways and trunk roads. These are being combined into a valuable permanent archive for scholars of the future.

Next time you drive on a motorway or trunk road, remember that the past lies around you. The Highways Agency's commitment to our archaeological heritage has helped to bring part of that to light.

Lord Whitty
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, DETR

HOW WE LOOK AFTER THE PAST

During the planning process for road improvements, we firstly commission archaeologists to do a desk assessment of the area - finding out what is known about it so far. Then other survey work is commissioned, which might result in field-walking - picking up fragments which might give a clue to what lies beneath, or a geophysical survey - using electronic instruments to detect buried human activity and structures. Then comes the digging of a series of trial trenches.

When construction begins, the archaeologists are on site keeping a watching brief as the topsoil is removed; if anything significant is found, the area is roped-off for further examination. If a very important site is uncovered, every effort is made to preserve the area by redesign.

During the excavations, the finds are identified and catalogued. Most go to local museums, though some of national importance can be seen in London museum collections.

It's not just the finds that are valuable. The post-excavation report by the archaeologists aims to develop an understanding of the site, reconstructing the past enabling us to appreciate better our history. Some of the results detailed here are provisional as post-excavation work is still going on.

Sometimes in our targeted programme of improvements a balance has to be struck between construction and the preservation of less-important areas, as it is not possible to skirt around every site. But the data is preserved in museum exhibits and excavation reports.

English Heritage has advised on every project.

THE SOUTH EAST

A13 Wennington to Mar Dyke

A Lion in Essex

Excavations in the Thames Estuary at Aveley, in Essex uncovered an exciting range of fossils, including the remains of a very large lion, brown bear, wolf, horse, red deer, rhinoceros, beaver, mole, barbastelle bat, water vole and pond terrapin. The richly-organic deposits also preserved remains of birds, amphibians, shells and beetles.

A major find was the bones of a jungle cat (Felis chaus) - now found only in North Africa, India and south east Asia. The name is a misnomer - they are commonly found in marshland and are often called swamp cats. They stand about 40cms (16ins) high.

Much larger bones were found from a giant ox (Bos primigenius), a prehistoric aurochs and the forerunner of our domestic cattle. They were long-horned and stood two metres high at the shoulder. They died out in Britain in the Bronze Age. The skeleton is now resting in the Natural History Museum in London.

The fossils were found in sediments which were laid down by the Thames approximately 200,000 years ago during the Middle Pleistocene period. They were uncovered during work on the Wennington to Mar Dyke section of the A13.

The climate during this interglacial period was at least as warm as today's and environmental reconstruction based on the findings shows that it was an area of marshy vegetation close to the river, with extensive areas of open grassland and isolated stands of woodland. The exposed sediments were similar to those excavated by the Natural History Museum to the north of Aveley village in the 1960s, when skeletons of the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenus) and of straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) were found. The latest evaluation of the area, by Essex County Council's field archaeology group, supported by the Highways Agency, began in 1992 with the examination of core samples and the digging of small pits. It was followed by intensive rescue excavation and recording between November 1996 and May 1998, by Dr Danielle Schreve of Durham University and Dr Peter Allen.

English Nature has identified another area of deposits close to the new road, which has been notified for future scheduling as a site of special scientific interest.

auroch hoof and toe bones

rhinoceros shoulder blade and jungle cat foreleg

A27 Brighton and Hove Bypass

Post-excavation work, including analysis of six major sites of prehistoric and Roman date has been completed by South Eastern Archaeological Services, who investigated chalk downland settlement and land use from the Mesolithic to the present day. Two important and previously-unknown Middle Bronze Age settlements were discovered at Mile Oak and Downsview. At one of these, Mile Oak, an area of Late Bronze Age metalworking was investigated. The archive is being deposited at Brighton Museum.

ages

A30 Honiton to Exeter

Horse Power - Roman Style

An exciting new discovery during the improvements between Honiton and Exeter was the site of a fort built by the Roman army in the middle of the first century AD.

The fort at Pomeroy Wood was defended by a rampart made of earth and timber and beyond that were two deep ditches with narrow 'ankle-breakers' (right) in their base.

Part of a building which may be a barrack was also excavated. This building was later replaced by a watch tower which strengthened the defences of the fort. Finds from the fort

included spears and high-quality crockery imported from France. Plants and beetles preserved by water logging in a well have allowed archaeologists to suggest that one of the garrisons of the fort was probably a cavalry unit, which helped patrol the main Roman road between Dorchester and Exeter. The modern A30 is thought to follow the route of this road.

After the Roman garrisons left to campaign further north, the settlement which had grown up around the fort continued in use. However, instead of building Roman-style houses, traditional houses were built, which were circular rather than rectangular in shape.

roman cavarly fort

Part of a small Roman cavalry fort at Pomeroy Wood

glastonbury ware and neolithic monument

As well as these Roman remains a series of very important prehistoric sites were also recorded by Wessex Archaeology in advance of the road building. The oldest of these sites was at Castle Hill near Fenny Bridges, where there were two ritual monuments of Neolithic date.

Archaeologists think that these monuments were used in ceremonies to commemorate the dead. The discovery of highly-decorated Peterborough Ware pottery and radiocarbon dates show that these sites are about 5,000 years old.

Other evidence for settlement at this time was found at Long Range to the west, where Neolithic pottery and a fine flint knife were found.

One and half millennia later Bronze Age farmers laid out a field system across the then-disused monuments at Castle Hill. The farm compound or farmyard lay at one end of the field system and probably contained roundhouses and granaries. Some of the crops the Bronze Age farmers grew in their fields have been preserved as they were burnt accidentally on fires in the farmyard.

Just north of Patteson's Cross two more Bronze Age roundhouse were found. One of these also lay in a small compound, but the other seems to have stood on its own out in the fields and may have been a shepherd's hut. Another Bronze Age farm, this time about 3,000 years old, was excavated near to Honiton at Hayne Lane. This settlement also lay within a compound which had a ditch and bank around it. Inside were two round houses. One house of these was the main dwelling, the other seems to have been used for crafts. A number of granaries were raised above ground on legs, rather like modern chicken coops, to keep vermin away from the grain.

neolithic flint and stone flakes

Three settlements dating to the Iron Age were also examined. A single roundhouse was built at Langland Lane, close to the by then long-abandoned Bronze Age settlement at Patteson's Cross. In contrast, several round houses were found at Long Range near Straightway Head.

These houses are 2,500 years old and like most of the Iron Age houses are much larger than the earlier Bronze Age ones. However, many things, such as the above-ground granaries and the crops which were grown, would have been familiar to the Bronze Age farmers.

As well as these excavations, the finds made during the watching brief while the 20 km-long road was being built also showed that the valley of the River Otter close to Honiton was the most densely-settled area.

However, one significant site was found near to Exeter, the Iron Age farm opposite the Blackhorse Inn, itself recently renamed Le Cheval Noir.

The Iron Age farm was occupied for several centuries. It consisted of a number of round houses and above-ground granaries which were gradually rebuilt in slightly different places. Only towards the end of the Iron Age, about 2,000 years ago, was the farm enclosed by a very wide and deep ditch with a bank. Inside this square yard stood a single, very large, round house and a number of above-ground granaries.

Highly-decorated pottery called Glastonbury Ware and a number of quern stones which the farmers had used for grinding grain were found. It is possible that some of the children of these farmers saw the arrival of the conquering Roman soldiers who built the fort at Pomeroy Wood.

There have been few opportunities to explore the prehistoric and Roman landscape of east Devon but the Honiton to Exeter improvements have, for the first time, allowed archaeologists an exciting insight into just how much evidence is likely to survive.

A35 Tolpuddle to Puddletown

A Grave at the Crossroads

roundhouse farmstead A vast amount of information came from a site on the Tolpuddle to Puddletown bypass, near Tolpuddle Ball, first excavated by Liverpool University in 1993. A smaller excavation in 1996/7 and a watching brief by Wessex Archaeology added finds dating from the Neolithic to the Romano-British periods.

The road scheme provided an opportunity to build up a picture of the farming economy in a nine-kilometre area which was well-settled in the late prehistoric and Roman periods.

The earliest discoveries were of late-glacial and early post-glacial deposits at Burleston Down (c. 12000-8000BC) thought to be the first such record in central southern England.

The project also provided important new data concerning Neolithic and Bronze Age activity, including the identification of an Early/Middle Bronze Age settlement enclosure at Tolpuddle Ball.

The most extensive period of activity dates from the Middle/Late Iron Age to the Early Romano-British period (4th century BC to 1st century AD). The Middle/Late Iron Age settlement focused on a rectangular enclosure established around 300 BC. A large number of pits were found, some containing special deposits including the burial of animal heads and carcasses and the remains of unborn children.

The Roman settlement was occupied up until at least the 4th century AD and probably had substantial stone buildings. There were rare organic deposits, which came from the preparation of leather from sheepskins.

Burials were associated with both settlements and 23 individuals were recorded.

In July 1998 a cemetery of 50 graves was excavated to the west of this settlement near Tolpuddle Ball. This had a well-ordered layout and all the graves were aligned east to west.

iron age ditch None of the graves contained goods or coffin nails although the former presence of timber coffins was visible in a few cases. A few small sherds of Roman pottery were recovered and radiocarbon dating of bones has shown that it was used from the end of the Roman period in AD 400 to AD 700. It demonstrates a continuity of Romano-British culture in Dorset rather than that of the incoming Saxons.

Evidence of prehistoric activity was also found to the north and south of Tolpuddle Ball, and to the north of Tolpuddle village, and localised concentrations of worked flint were noted along the route during the watching brief.

Medieval and later deposits from the project are limited but include an unusual early 13th-century agricultural enclosure and waste tip from West Mead near Bere Regis.

One enigmatic discovery was the isolated grave of a woman, aged over 40 years, lying alongside (or even within) a former road surface near Roger's Hill Farm. Wire loops, probably associated with costume or dress accessories, indicate a date from the 16th to 18th century. The grave was located on the parish boundary on the north side of what was a cross-roads on the Bere Regis to Tolpuddle road. This type of location was traditionally used for the burial of villains, suicides and other social outcasts, such as witches.

A417/A419 Swindon to Gloucester

Roman Farmers

The new A417 and A419 Swindon to Gloucester roads run for much of their lengths on the Roman Ermin Way, which linked Gloucester (Glevum) and Cirencester (Corinium Dobunnorum), and ran south-east to Silchester (Calleva Attrebatum) near Reading. This is not to be confused with the other Ermine Street which ran northwards from London to York.

The Oxford Archaeological Unit investigated 35 separate sites of varying types and periods along the 25 kilometre length of the new road. Many of the sites produced archaeological finds from the Roman period.

The most important find was near Birdlip Quarry where a farming settlement was discovered alongside Ermin Way. Three wells, a corn-drier and several hearths and ovens were excavated.

Also discovered around the quarry were some hipposandals - Roman horseshoes which were tied to the horses' feet, rather than being nailed. It is thought that they were used to protect injured feet, rather than be used constantly, as experiments have shown that they come off at more than walking pace. They may also have been used for cattle.

The most significant discovery was a sequence of buildings between the second and fourth centuries AD which showed a development from earlier circular timber structures to later stone buildings. The wooden roundhouses, 12 metres in diameter, were built in the traditional way, with the doorways facing south east, away from the Roman road. They seem to have been abandoned some time early in the third century and were replaced later with stone buildings.

sites investigated along ermin way

PLANNING ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK How we did it on the A417 / A419 Swindon - Gloucester Road
ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK	ACTIVITY
	DESIGN
Stage 1 assessment	Preliminary survey to identify constraints and areas of further study	1988-89
Stage 2 assessment	Detailed desktop assessment and preliminary walkover survey	1989-90
Stage 3 assessment	Field Survey: geophysical survey, trial-trenching and test-pitting: modifications to design	1990-91
	PUBLIC INQUIRY
Archaeological proof of evidence	Statement of the archaeological impact of the proposed route	1991-94
	CONTRACT PREPARATION
Archaeological brief and specifications	Detailed statement of archaeological requirements for all scheme works	1995
	CONSTRUCTION
Archaeological fieldwork	Preservation in-situ, further evaluation, full excavation, sample excavation, strip and record, watching brief	1996-97
Post-excavation assessment	Production of fieldwork report and scoping report for post-excavation project design (identifying the research value of results)	1997
Post-excavation work	Analysis of archaeological records, artefacts and samples	1997-98
	OPENING	Dec 1997
Final publication and archive deposition	Public dissemination of results; production of post-excavation report; transfer of archive and finds to museum	1998-2000

Significant information relating to the later prehistoric period (800 BC-.AD 43) was found. A number of important Iron Age settlement enclosures were investigated at Highgate House, Middle Duntisbourne, Duntisbourne Grove, Preston Enclosure and Ermin Farm.

The Preston enclosure was a distinctive hexagonal shape and its dating to the middle Iron Age makes it very unusual for the period. The two rectangular Duntisbourne enclosures, less than one kilometre apart, date to the few decades before or around the time of the Roman conquest and, intriguingly, both appear to have been occupied at the same time.

A number of sites produced evidence for early prehistoric activity. A group of pits from Duntisbourne Grove contained flints and pottery dating from the Neolithic period (3500-2000 BC), while a second group of pits from Trinity Farm produced finds dating from the succeeding Early Bronze Age period (2000-1800 BC).

Two Bronze Age burial barrows, represented by adjacent ring-ditches, were discovered at St Augustine's Farm South, associated with a series of segmented ditches (possible boundary markers) and a number of pits. One of the ditches still contained the remains of a cremation in its centre.

In addition, a possible Bronze Age burial was discovered above the Churn valley at Lynches Trackway.

Many sites produced evidence for medieval and post-medieval activity. In particular, work at Latton Street Farm revealed a series of superimposed stone buildings dating from around the 13th century, which should provide an insight into the history of the development of Latton village.

Post-excavation analysis over a period of three years is under way and a comprehensive report will be published. Radiocarbon dating should help to solve some of the dating difficulties, particularly with the earlier prehistoric finds.

Gravel excavations at Latton at the end of 1998, which were not part of the Highways Agency scheme, uncovered the bones of eight mammoths and flint axes.

A417 Brockworth Bypass

Plough Furrows

Investigations were made by the archaeology service of Gloucestershire County Council around the 5.6km Brockworth bypass. This included work to the north and east of Hucclecote Roman villa.

Excavation within the eastern corner of the grounds of the Hucclecote Resource Centre was carried out before construction of a new slip-road linking the M5 motorway with the Brockworth bypass. This lay about 150 metres east of Hucclecote villa and was found to contain a rectilinear system of ditches, interpreted as boundaries enclosing previously unsuspected small fields or paddocks. The boundaries developed over several centuries, from the 1st century AD.

The enclosures contained a number of pits, post and stake settings and gullies which may signify the presence of small structures. Overlying the Roman deposits were a number of medieval plough furrows associated with a headland running at a right angle to the ends of the furrows. These were aligned with the Roman boundaries, implying perhaps that the villa landscape influenced the layout of the medieval field system.

North of Hucclecote villa, topsoil stripping in advance of road construction revealed Romano-British boundaries and structures preserved within an area 0.35km wide. Excavations to sample these features were undertaken in four areas. Boundary ditches, a length of wall and a corn dryer were found.

These finds confirm the presence of a complex system of enclosures surrounding Hucclecote villa.

A30 Fraddon to Indian Queens

Sacred Spaces

Archaeological investigation, initially commissioned by English Heritage, was undertaken between October 1992 and May 1994 by Cornwall Archaeological Unit. This revealed a wide range of information about a tract of Cornish landscape. A post-excavation assessment was made during 1997-1998.

The discovery of a ritual landscape north of Indian Queens was of particular interest. Excavation at Little Gaverigan Barrow (found during a survey in 1991) revealed three major episodes of ritual activity in the Early Bronze Age.

The site was a sacred space with central pavement of quartz rubble defined by a ditch. The ditch later had a number of large pits dug into its northern side, which may have once held stone menhirs - carved standing stones - or wooden posts.

Two small pits in the western area of the enclosed space contained fragments of pottery dating from the Early Bronze Age (about 4,000 years ago). One was an unusual small vessel with a central perforated plate known as an accessory cup, which may have been used to burn incense. Finally, the site was capped by a mound of cut peat turves, which contained flint artefacts from the earlier Mesolithic period (at least 6,000 years ago).

Less than 30 metres to the north, another completely unknown Early Bronze Age ritual enclosure was discovered near the new Highgate roundabout and rapidly excavated during the watching brief. This comprised a horseshoe-shape space defined by ditches and post-holes. In a central pit was a cremation contained within a decorated collared urn, also containing an unusual bronze awl.

A cluster of large pits, recorded some hundred metres to the south, probably represent a further component of this landscape, and the isolated discovery of a cup-marked slate in the locality further contributes to the overall emerging picture.

Bronze Age Pottery

Trenches were opened across one edge of Penhale Round (an enclosed later prehistoric settlement site) and also beyond its boundary to investigate the landscape setting.

The earliest remains in the vicinity were the boundaries of an early field system, a well-preserved oval building, a circular stake-built enclosure and the traces of a sub-rectangular structure which contained a domestic hearth pit. Embedded in the floor of the oval building was a dense spread of Middle Bronze Age pottery dating to around 1300-900 BC, together with the charred fragments of structural oak timber.

This landscape was contemporary with a farmstead excavated during the watching brief at the western end of the bypass on Penhale Moor. This consisted of two structures and produced a sizeable collection of Trevisker pottery. Worked pieces of stone and flint were also found, including a Middle Bronze Age spearhead embedded in the floor of the main residential building.

Further isolated pits, ditches and spreads in the area gave some indication of the survival of Bronze Age and later prehistoric elements.

At Penhale Round, excavations centred on the ramparts, external ditches and main entranceway. At least five major phases of complex modification to this site were identified. Occupation extended from at least the end of the second or first century BC up to third/fourth centuries AD, during which time the site gradually developed from a single-ditched enclosed settlement into one with double ditches.

After its abandonment, the area seems to have been largely deserted and not later reused for settlement by medieval farmers, although traces of a medieval field wall were found running more or less centrally across the site.

There were also surveys and small-scale investigations of the early tin-working sites at Queens mine, the Kelliers and Mayfield farm, in addition to the relatively modern china clay workings at Higher Fraddon.

A large collection of environmental samples was recovered for analysis from isolated places as well as individual sites and features. Two peat deposits, at Halloon Farm and Kelliers, were sampled. More than 140 hedge boundaries were recorded in detail which showed broad differences between boundary types, reflecting different processes of enclosure, changing land use and local topography. Apart from the major field systems, evidence of a probable buried prehistoric landscape was identified at Halloon Farm, probable medieval cultivation was surveyed at Mayfield farm, and at Black Cross the ditches of a field system of unknown date were identified during the watching brief.

A303 Stonehenge

Major Improvement

The tunnel planned for Stonehenge will take the existing road away from the stones

The Stonehenge scheme will remove traffic from Britain's greatest prehistoric monument, by putting the road closest to the stones in a 2km cut-and-cover tunnel - part of the improvement scheme between Amesbury and Berwick Down.

The Highways Agency have been investigating the archaeological impact of various routes around the stones since 1991. Their conclusions have been adopted by the custodians of the stones, English Heritage, in their master plan for the site and a special database has been developed which holds all the recorded archaeology within an area of 135 square kilometres.

There are 450 scheduled monuments with the World Heritage Site at Stonehenge. The tunnel construction could affect five scheduled monuments and 11 sites, which are partly or fully within the tunnel assessment area.

All these sites have already been damaged by farmers' ploughs and only three are now visible.

There will still be a major programme of archaeological investigation before the tunnel is constructed which will lead to a better understanding of the history of the site.

A34 Newbury Bypass

A Globular Urn

The route of the Newbury bypass has been subject to extensive archaeological investigations in close liaison with English Heritage. In addition to desk-top studies this included nearly 400 hand-dug test pits, 400 machine trenches and 50 holes. The area of investigation was about two per cent of the site. Sites identified as being of potential archaeological interest were then given a more detailed survey.

The Highways Agency awarded a contract to York Archaeological Trust to undertake a full excavation to uncover and record finds at a Mesolithic - Neolithic site in the Lambourn Valley. This was the only site identified as being of possible national importance. Excavation work was carried out between July and October 1996.

It was confirmed that the bypass avoided the main areas of archaeological interest. Flint working debris dating from 8500-4000 BC were uncovered. Post-excavation analysis and reporting are being carried out and finds will be given to Newbury Museum.

Archaeological investigations were also undertaken at ten sites of local interest before and during site clearance. These revealed some Romano-British archaeological features, Bronze Age pottery and a complete Middle Bronze Age globular urn.

Wessex Archaeology were on site throughout the construction work to look out for any unexpected remains and to record these features.

Measures were taken to ensure the preservation of both the Mesolithic site near Bagnor and that of a recognised Roman villa at Enborne Road.

Large quantities of medieval pottery and tile, some of which was obviously kiln waste, were recovered from a heavily-disturbed site at Enborne Street. The material was found to be associated with a series of pits, one at least functioning as an oven or kiln, and other shallow linear features, although no structural evidence was encountered. Similar evidence suggesting pottery production was found during topsoil stripping at Wheatlands Lane.

The bypass also skirts the 1643 First Battle of Newbury site but avoids the main area of the battlefield.

A421 Wendlebury to Bicester

Beaker Folk

The Oxford Archaeological Unit undertook major excavations in the northern settlement of the Roman small town of Alchester, Oxfordshire.

These investigations outside the boundaries of the town produced Neolithic/Bronze Age flintwork, and beaker material (from the Early Bronze Age). This material is a type of pottery in beaker shape made at the end of the Neolithic and start of the Early Bronze age and the people who made are sometimes called beaker folk.

There was also evidence for Middle Iron Age settlement and extensive activity throughout the Roman period and Anglo-Saxon burials.

In the first to early second centuries AD the Roman settlement was characterised principally by ditches on alignments relating to the early Roman Akeman Street. Later, a system of ditched plots developed on each side of a minor lane parallel to and north of the line of Akeman Street. South of the lane the structures were dated to the mid second century.

North of the lane the plots, one entered through a substantial timber gateway, contained later Roman structures of varying plan and construction type, the character of the settlement at this time being largely agricultural.

Settlement continued to the end of the Roman period and probably beyond, and there may have been continuity of agricultural practices into the post-Roman period. A small late Roman cemetery with a post-Roman phase complemented the domestic structures and other features. There were numerous finds of a wide variety of types and materials, amongst which a fragment of a monumental inscription was remarkable and the pottery assemblage was particularly large and significant.

Smaller-scale work elsewhere on the road scheme uncovered a Bronze Age burial, late Iron Age-early Roman settlement and elements of the field systems relating to the Roman town.

M4/M5 Second Severn Approach Roads

The sites to be investigated include a well-preserved Iron Age site at Hallen, a Romano-British site at Northwick and medieval settlement evidence at Redwick. Paeleo-environmental studies and mapping should provide information about the wider landscape.

THE NORTH

M1-A1 LOFTHOUSE TO BRAMHAM LINK
M6 (M66) MANCHESTER OUTER RING ROAD DENTON-MIDDLETON
M65 BLACKBURN SOUTHERN BYPASS
A69 HALTWHISTLE BYPASS
A1 WALSHFORD TO DISHFORTH

M1 - A1 Lofthouse to Bramham Link

Saxon Pit House

Finds of national importance, two early Anglo-Saxon grubenhäusen - the first to be found in West Yorkshire - were made while the road was being built. They date to the fifth century AD.

funerary urn and timbers The grubenhäuser, as its name suggests, was Germanic in origin and was a pit house, with the earth at its base grubbed away to form a shallow depression over which the house was built. These sunken-floored huts represent a change in house-building from the round shape to the rectangular. Rare pottery was also found at the site.

West Yorkshire Archaeology Service investigated 34 sites along eight kilometers of the road, which revealed evidence of ancient rural landscape dating from the Bronze Age and which had been developed in the late Iron Age and Roman periods.

There was significant evidence from Bronze Age domestic activity and ritual practices at three sites and excavation produced a large number of Bronze Age artefacts. The major find was an almost intact collared urn, containing cremated human remains.

Iron Age and Roman settlement, enclosures and field systems were also investigated at six sites and these produced large amounts of Roman pottery.

The scheme also gave archaeologists an opportunity to investigate and reassess the function and dates of three earthworks - the Aberford Dykes and Grim's Ditch. The ditch has been thought to be part of a Roman road, though later theories have suggested that the three earthworks together formed part of a defence line around the kingdom of Elmet.

saxon pit house

An Anglo-Saxon grübenhauser - the first move away from traditional round houses

M6 (M66) Manchester Outer Ring Road Denton-Middleton

Timbers from the roof and walls of a 17th century building at Lower Lime Farm, Oldham, were removed carefully when the building was demolished in March 1998. It may have been the original farmhouse. The farm was found on the earliest map of the area dated 1793, covering Ashton-under-Lyne. The 40 timbers have now been stored by Oldham council.

M65 Blackburn Southern Bypass

Not all archaeological investigations are concerned with the distant past. Excavations were made at two Word War II sites at Stanhill Camp, one of them a group of anti-aircraft installations, the second a prisoner-of-war camp.

The anti-aircraft site consisted of a control bunker surrounded by four gun batteries. Each battery contained within its thick walls a circular gun platform which would have held a revolving 3.7 calibre 'ack ack' gun, four ammunition stores and a billet for the gun crew. The purpose of the site - said originally to have been a searchlight battery - would probably have been to protect Blackburn from enemy air attacks coming from the south.

A prisoner-of-war camp was built nearby, which held Italian prisoners during the war - football matches were organised between the inmates and the locals. The Italians were moved in 1945 and 200 Germans were held there until the camp closed in May 1947. All that remains of the camp are the concrete foundations and floors of the barrack block.

The old and the new ... excavation work on the Roman road at Hook Moor took place as the new road was being built (left picture)

hook moor excavation work and probable roman burial

Burial of probable Roman date at Garforth (right picture)

A69 Haltwhistle Bypass

In June 1996 a watching brief was conducted by Northern Archaeological Associates over about a third of the 3.5km Haltwhistle bypass from Bellister Castle westwards towards the embankment of the disused Haltwhistle-Alston railway line, through which the bypass runs.

South of the River South Tyne, the bypass crosses the edge of a late pre-glacial terrace of silt and sand and more recent deposits of the past 10,000 years.

On the northern edge of the gravel terrace the remains of a previously-unsuspected Iron Age/Romano-British period site were discovered.

Approximately 600m north-east of Bellister Castle, under the topsoil was an arc of stones forming part of a circular feature some 8.8m in diameter. Hand-cleaning revealed a small concentration of charcoal and burnt bone at its centre and a small pit cutting the northern edge of the arc of stones. The find was initially thought to represent the truncated remains of a barrow, with a central cremation, however, on investigation the stone arc proved to form part of the construction trench of a timber-built round house.

Detailed excavation revealed evidence for the walls of two timber-built, round houses. The construction trenches survived only as short vestigial arcs between 0.15 - 0.30m deep, filled with packing stones. These would originally have contained vertical timbers. There were also post holes and an area of cobbling, part of a porch and a possible yard surface.

A shallow pit in the middle of one of the round houses contained charcoal and burnt bone from a cremation. Analysis of the identified human skull fragments, teeth and long bones belonging to an adult.

The charcoal comprised fragments of oak, alder and sloe, with two charred barley grains. Two sherds of almost certainly Roman pottery were also recovered.

No evidence was identified of either a palisade trench or an enclosure ditch, suggesting that the site may have been unenclosed. The majority of Iron-Age/ Romano-British settlement sites which have been identified are enclosed either by a palisade or ditch, the latter making them particularly recognisable cropmark features.

Cremations and burials are not unknown on other Iron Age - Romano-British sites, but usually these are located away from the areas of occupation.

A1 Walshford to Dishforth

A report has been prepared by Northern Archaeological Associates on the Roman military site at Roecliffe. The discoveries included double defensive ditches, a series of outworks and evidence of extramural activity. The site has been dated to c. AD 71 and c. AD 85.

THE MIDLANDS

A1(M) ALCONBURY TO PETERBOROUGH
A564 DERBY SOUTHERN BYPASS

A1(M) Alconbury to Peterborough

Breeding Horses

This road follows the route of another Roman Ermine Street, which ran from London (Londinium) to York (Eboracum). The road, which was primarily for military use, was named after Earna, leader of a tribe of Germanic settlers. It became the Great North Road and then the A1(M).

The stretch which was examined lay to the south of the Roman industrial areas of the Nene valley and the town of Water Newton (Durobrivae) and skirted the edge of the fens, which were drained during the Roman period and became a rich natural resource.

Seven settlements of late Iron Age or Roman periods were investigated by Birmingham University field archaeological unit before work began on the new road.

The largest settlement was at Tort Hill, on both sides of the road. To the west, a number of Iron Age ditches were found and small enclosures with circular gullies, which were presumably the site of houses.

The beginning of Roman period appears to mark a shift to the other side of the road - perhaps to allow for the building of Ermine Street, though no trace of this was found during the investigations. There was evidence of enclosures, set at right angles to the Street and some evidence of rich .buildings with remains of painted plaster.

The abandoned area to the west was used as a graveyard and several hearths showed evidence of industrial activity.

Other sites produced evidence of Roman settlement at Norman Cross, Vinegar Hill and Alconbury. They all produced a higher than usual number of horse bones, which could imply horse-breeding, for which the open areas of the Fens would be very suitable.

At Connington, an early post-medieval bridge was recorded in detail and the fields along the route showed evidence of ridge and furrow up to the early 1950s.

finds examined and catalogued

Finds are examined and catalogued

A564 Derby Southern Bypass

Three reports have been prepared by Trent and Peak Archaeological Trust for sites excavated .within the Trent Valley in Derbyshire. They cover the prehistoric sites at Swarkestone Lowes and Hickens Bridge, Aston-on-Trent and the important Neolithic ritual site of long parallel ditches at Potlock to the south-west of Derby. The finds will be deposited in Derby Museum.

SCHEMES COMPLETED FROM 1995 - 98

SCHEMES COMPLETED FROM 1995 - 98
ARCHAEOLOGICAL PRESERVATION AND RECORDING PROJECTS
SCHEME TITLE	TYPE OF WORK	EXPENDITURE	DATE
A50 Blythe Bridge to Queens Way Phase 1B	Post excavation analysis	11,000	97/98
A1 Motorway Walshford to Dishforth	Excavation and analysis	479,000	97/98
A564 Derby Southern Bypass Contract A	Excavation and analysis	512,000	97/98
A4/A46 Batheaston / Swainswick	Excavation Post excavation	34,000 12,000	96/97 96/97
M1 - A1 (Lofthouse to Bramham)	Excavation	800,000	96/97
A30 Trunk Road Improvement at Minzies Downs	Removal and excavation of ancient cross	6,200	96/97
A11 Besthorpe - Wymondham	Excavation	125,000	95/96
A11 Stumps Cross - Four Wentways	Excavation	32,000	95/96
A27 Brighton and Hove Bypass	Excavation	125,000	95/96
A27 Patching Junction Improvement	Excavation and analysis	54,000	95/96
A30 Indian Queens, Fraddon & St Columb Road pass	Excavation and analysis	445,000	95/96
A46 Norton Lenchwick Improvement	Excavation and analysis	367,000	95/96
A140 Scole - Dickleburgh Improvement	Excavation and analysis	792,000	95/96
A417 Brockworth Bypass	Excavation and analysis	75,000	95/96
A564 Foston-Hatton-Hilton Bypass	Excavation and analysis	20,000	95/96
A638 Doncaster Northern Bridge Relief Road	Excavation and analysis	176,000	95/96
	Total	£4,065,200.00

SCHEMES WHERE ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK IS BEING DONE 1998/9

SCHEMES WHERE ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK IS BEING DONE 1998/9
A102M	Port Greenwich	Watching brief
A564	Derby Southern bypass	Watching brief
M66	Denton - Middleton	Watching brief
A12	Hackney Wick - M11	Post-excavation report
A13	Wennington - Mar Dyke	Post-excavation report
A34	Newbury bypass	Post-excavation report
A16	Market Deeping bypass	Post-excavation report
A417/419	Swindon - Gloucester	Post-excavation report
A30/35	Exeter - Bere Regis	Excavation / watching brief
M40	Junction 1 - 15	Watching brief
A1	Alconbury - Peterborough	Excavation / watching brief
A50	Stoke - Derby	Excavation / watching brief
M1/A1	Yorkshire link	Excavation / watching brief
A69	Carlisle - Newcastle	Excavation / watching brief
A19	Dishforth - Tyne Tunnel	Excavation / watching brief
A30/39	Indian Queens	Post-excavation report

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Acknowledgements

The Highways Agency would like to thank the following for their help in providing text and pictures for this booklet:

Graham Eyre-Morgan, University of Manchester Archaeology unit;
Dr Andrew Fitzgerald, Wessex Archaeology;
Mike Jones, Halcrow Fox; Andrew Mudd, Oxford Archaeological Unit;
Ian Roberts, West Yorkshire Archaeology;
David Rudling, South East Archaeology;
Dr Danielle Schreve, Natural History Museum, London;
Elaine A. Wakefield , Wessex Archaeology and
Peter Weddell, Exeter Archaeology.

Settlement drawings by Jane Brayne.