Worsted Street, Roman Road Mount Farm, Fulbourn

During August 1991, staff of Cambridgeshire County Council Archaeology Section investigated the Roman Road known as Worsted or Wool Street (also Margery 24), a scheduled ancient monument in advance of roadworks for the dualling of the A11 trunk road. The Roman road and associated ditches were excavated and construction techniques recorded. Three sections (totalling 48.3 square metres) were excavated, two to the west of the A11 and the third to the east. The Roman road and flanking ditches were well preserved west of the A11, showing the agger comprising the pre-Roman soil horizons, a foundation of rammed chalk, and gravel metalling. South-east of the A11 no evidence of a Romanised road was found, and no conclusive evidence of ditches. Along the course of the modern track, the top of the natural chalk was heavily worn and eroded. Although no dating evidence was recorded (except from the imprint of a third century coin outside the south-west ditch), soil samples for palynology, molluscan and micromorphological analysis were collected, and reports will be completed in 1992. Pollen preservation was poor, but preliminary results indicate that the molluscan and micromorphological analyses are likely to produce valuable new evidence for local environment and land-use for the period when the road was built. Limited fieldwalking and an auger survey traced the course of the road to the south-east, and will follow for a more informed speculation about the original destination and purpose of the road. Further post-excavation analysis and reappraisal of previous work recorded in 1959 are scheduled for 1992.

Preliminary conclusions suggest that a fully Romanised road existed from Cambridge to Worsted Lodge, and that this survived in a very good condition. The south-east of Worsted Lodge shows a trackway that may have been partly Romanised, though this is unproven, and the use of chalk layers for road surfaces may be medieval in date. There is no certain destination for this process of Romanisation of a pre-existing track. Previously supposed destinations at Horseheath or Streetly are now seen, shown to be insignificant settlements. It can be speculated that the Roman Road was intended to link Cambridge to the Roman Road from Great Chesterford to Caistor-by-Norwich, now the A11 trunk Road.