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Here you can find out more about some of the archaeological work and discoveries that have been made during work on road projects across our network.

Some of these discoveries may have been made near you!

A1(M) Ferrybridge to Hook Moor Improvement, Yorkshire.

The scheme comprised of the A1(M) dual three-lane motorway between Darrington, just south of the M62, and linking with the M1 at Hook Moor just north of Micklefield, including the new Holmfield interchange, a free flowing junction between the A1(M) and M62 motorways near Ferrybridge. 

Near the Ferrybridge power station, this scheme revealed a unique burial from more than 2000 years ago, containing a complete chariot , the only one found in the UK.  Other pre-Roman burials from the Yorkshire region have contained "flat-pack" chariots --- stacks of dismantled components -- but the Ferrybridge chariot burial was intact and ready to roll, allowing archaeologists to understand the way these iconic vehicles were handled.  It was, however, assembled from bits of several different chariots, some apparently worn out, so the sacrifice entailed in its disposal may not have been quite as great as it may first appear!

A63 Melton Junction

The scheme replaced the traffic signals with a new grade separated junction.

Improvements to the A63 revealed a landscape of tracks, field boundaries and dispersed farm houses from the period of  transition from iron age to Roman, suggesting that under the Roman occupation the population continued to farm the land in much the same way as their forefathers had done, but with changes to their lifestyle, seen for instance in the use of imported pottery, and the design of their houses from round to rectangular in plan.In contrast the medieval period saw a complete re-organisation of the landscape, together with the growth of Melton as a village.

A419 Blunsdon Bypass

This scheme has provided a dual carriageway bypass to the west of Blunsdon. Evidence of activities from prehistoric to medieval were found, including a small Roman farmstead.

M1 Junctions 6A-10 widening

Work to widen the M1 Junctions 6A-10 was carried out on both carriageways to bring it up to a full standard four lane motorway with continuous hard shoulders. 

Here the widening gave an opportunity to record the Gibberd bridges affected by the scheme and led to the commissioning of a photographic essay by the renowned photographer Matthew Walter. This recorded both the process of the work and the evocative landscapes and structures of this stretch of the M1.

A3 Hindhead Improvements

This scheme involves completing the dual carriageway link between London and Portsmouth and removiong a major source of congestion, particularly around the A3/A287 traffic signal controlled crossroads.

Significant prehistoric material was found on the route of the A3 Hindhead Improvement, but there was little evidence of later activity until the post-medieval period when industrial features such as lime kilns and clay pits showed how the natural resources of this historically wooded area were exploited.

A30 Bodmin to Indian Queens Improvement

The new A30 consists of 11.57km (7 mile) stretch of new dual carriageway. Between Indian Queens and Victoria, the route is located about 500m to the north of the existing A30, passing to the south of Royalton and Belowda.

Archaeologists working for Highways Agency on this scheme have uncovered traces of settlement and ritual sites spanning more than 4000 years, near the village of Belowda.

A41 Aston Clinton Bypass

The bypass route is a 6.3km long dual two-lane road passing to the north of Aston Clinton between Woodlands Roundabout in the west and Tring Hill roundabout in the east. The project includes bridges carrying side roads over the bypass and a local diversion of the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal.

The A41 Aston Clinton bypass posed some challenging archaeological problems and provided some fascinating insights into this area's past.

A34 Chieveley / M4 Jct 13 Improvement

The A34 Chieveley/M4 Junction 13 Improvement Scheme was opened to traffic in August 2004. The work has included construction of ten new bridges and 3 km of new dual carriageway.

Throughout the entire site of the new road construction there is an opportunity to unearth archaeological remains. Highway projects such as the A34/M4 Junction 13 offer a rare opportunity to investigate remains.

A2/A282 Dartford Improvement

This is a major improvement scheme to reduce congestion and improve journey time reliability on the A2/A282 at Dartford.

Over several years a series of studies have assessed potential archaeological sites to decide where more detailed exploration would be needed before the A2/A282 Dartford Improvement could be built. Find out more.

A2 Bean to Cobham: Phase 2

The A2 is being widened to four lanes with hard shoulders in each direction between Pepperhill and Cobham junctions. The widening scheme is the second phase of the overall A2 Bean to Cobham scheme, the first phase Bean to Pepperhill, was completed in December 2004.

A team of up to 50 archaeologists has been working since September 2006 to ensure that archaeological remains are appropriately dealt with and recorded prior to the start of the earthworks. The investigations have revealed evidence of settlements in the area from the Middle Bronze Age (1500 BC) to the late Medieval period (1400 AD).

They have discovered a rich archaeological landscape revealing artefacts over 10,000 years old. The discoveries include a series of Roman high status burials dating from the 1st Century AD, which are amongst the best examples found in Britain to date and contain bronze vessels similar to ones found in the ancient remains at Pompeii. Find out more.

A6 Rushden and Higham Ferrers Bypass

The bypass was built to remove a significant amount of traffic from the towns of Rushden and Higham Ferrers, reducing the number of accidents and improving the environment within them.

The land around Higham Ferrers and Rushden is known to be rich in archaeological remains dating to the prehistoric, Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods. When the decision was taken to construct the new bypass to the east of the towns there was always the possibility of new sites being found. Find out more.

A66 Temple Sowerby Bypass and Improvements at Winderwath

The 5 km (3.1 mile) dual carriageway bypass starts in the west near Whinfell House and passes to the south and west of Temple Sowerby terminating in the east near Spitals Farm.

We carried out an archaeological survey of the line of the bypass. Children from the Temple Sowerby C of E Primary School were invited to the site to see how the work was done.

We excavated a total of 67 trenches along the route and two important finds were made.