Bronze Age to Roman Remains at Cam Drive, Ely, Cambridgeshire: PXA and UPD

Between 23rd October and 5th December 2014 Oxford Archaeology East (OA East) carried out an archaeological excavation on land adjacent to Cam Drive, Ely (TL 542 820) ahead of development for housing and associated infrastructure. The excavation was spread over two fields; an area measuring 1.86ha in size was opened in the western field and a further 0.88ha was investigated in the eastern field, a total of 2.74ha.
Archaeological remains ranging in date from the Early Neolithic through to the post-medieval period were encountered. The finds assemblage was dominated by prehistoric pottery with quantities of Roman pottery also being found. A small amounts of human skeletal remains came from a single Roman cremation.
Neolithic activity included two natural hollows, which contained Neolithic pottery, and a background spread of residual finds in later features. Five sherds of pottery dating to the later Neolithic or Early Bronze Age were found as residual sherds in these later features. The principal phase of activity took place during the Middle Bronze Age with the construction of a large sub-rectangular enclosure, bounded on three sides by ditches. This enclosure contained internal divisions in the north-east with possible post built structures at its centre. A number of Middle Bronze Age pits and a waterhole dating to this period were also uncovered.
A small amount of residual pottery dating to the Later Iron Age was found in three locations in the north of the site, but no features from the period were encountered.
The Romano-British activity was characterised by several field boundaries and a system of cultivation strips. The field boundaries were orientated approximately east to west and some extended beyond the limits of excavation, suggesting they were part of a much wider field system. The cultivation strips were orientated north-north-east to south-south-west and were heavily truncated.
Evidence for the medieval and post-medieval periods consisted of a boundary ditch near to the northern limit of the site along with numerous north to south aligned cultivation furrows.