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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
