A Community Archaeology Excavation at Fane Road Allotment Site, Fane Road, Peterborough

Between 12th May and 13th June 2014 a community excavation, co-ordinated by Oxford Archaeology East (OA East), was carried out on land at the Fane Road Allotments, Peterborough (TL 518 301) as part of a project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). Three small excavation areas were opened, cleaned and planned and although only minimal excavation was undertaken, further evidence of the Iron Age settlement was found along with a continuation of the villa complex first excavated in 2011 by OA East. The finds range from a small Roman glass bead and several copper alloy brooches to many kilogrammes of Roman mortar and ceramic building material (CBM), as well as fragments of painted wall plaster; deriving from the various phases of villa building (including a bath house) extending to the north. The Community Excavation included a range of different opportunities for both visitors and participants alike. In addition to learning excavation and recording skills, participants also took part in finds processing and attended a number of lunch-time talks covering a range of topics. The site was also open to visitors and there were a number of organised tours, open days and exhibitions. Details of all the associated events can be found in the OA East HLF Evaluation report (David-Crawford-White 2015).