Prehistoric Remains on Land Adjacent to Babraham Road, Cambridge: An Evaluation

Between the 19th of November and the 4th of December 1997 the Archaeological Field Unit of Cambridgeshire County Council undertook evaluation by means of trial trenching on land adjacent to Babraham Road, Cambridge. The work was commissioned by Mr J Clough of the Environment and Transport division of Cambridgeshire County Council in advance of the proposed development of the site as a new park and ride facility. The Evaluation revealed the entrance of an enclosure with a defensive element, a tightly flexed human burial of possible Neolithic date and a tightly flexed calf burial of unknown but presumably pre-historic date. Absolute dating of all excavated features is somewhat problematic at present with the range of flint and pottery artefacts recovered being relatively small and un-diagnostic in nature. Whilst further excavation is clearly required to increase the sample size from previous excavations over the past 100 years within the local area would tend to support the view that the landscape surrounding the subject site is being intensively utilised for settlement and agriculture at this time.