Medieval occupation at Challis Green, Barrington

Between 30th September and 4th October the Archaeological Field Unit of Cambridgeshire County Council carried out an archaeological evaluation of 2.5 hectares of land at Challis Green, Barrington (TL 3990 5000). Nine trenches were mechanically excavated. One trench contained no archaeological features, four trenches contained shallow, linear features mostly in an approximately east-west direction which have been interpreted as medieval ridge and furrow or property boundaries. A further two trenches contained larger features, including evidence for coprolite quarrying. The remaining two trenches, in the north-western part of the field yielded evidence for considerable archaeological activity, including building materials and a cobbled yard, together with pits, ditches and dumps. Finds recovered from various contexts indicate the western part of the site was occupied between the 12th and early 16th centuries, the bulk of pottery dating between the mid-13th and late 14th century. It then appears the filed was put to pasture from the early 16th century until the 19th century when it was bought under cultivation and the northern part of the site quarried for coprolites in the late 19th century.