A Prehistoric enclosure and other features at Land off Barkers Lane, March, Cambridgeshire

From the 23rd of October to the 6th of December 2017 Oxford Archaeology East undertook an archaeological evaluation at land south of Barkers Lane, March, Cambridgeshire (TL 4200 9500). A total of 91 trenches were excavated, the majority of which measured 50m in length but which also included a small number of square trenches located over anomalies identified via geophysical survey.
Ditches were recorded in the majority of the trenches with a number of poorly dated field systems on varying alignments revealed during excavation, most of which had been previously identified by a geophysical survey. Within these extensive field systems three main areas of archaeological interest were identified across the site.
In the south-west corner of the site a large sub-square enclosure, previously recorded from aerial photographs and measuring approximately 70m across, was identified in five of the trenches. The enclosure was formed by a very substantial ditch up to 5m wide and at least 2m deep. Few finds were recovered from the enclosure but a single sherd of Middle Bronze Age pottery from its upper fill suggests it dates to this period. A single Middle Bronze Age well was identified at the northern end of the site (Trench 6), which yielded 75 sherds (1017g) of Middle Bronze Age pottery and is thought to be contemporary with at least one of the field systems identified in this part of the site.
A Middle Iron Age presence was also noted on site. The majority of the pottery dating to this period was recovered from the fills of ditches in the south-west of the site. Pottery of this date only occurred in small quantities and no structures or other features suggestive of settlement activity during this period were recorded. A small quantity of Roman pottery was also recovered from a small number of ditches in the northern part of the site, particularly from ditches with an east to west alignment. One of the field systems may tentatively be dated to the Roman period, although the pottery is fairly abraded and may in many cases represent residual material caught up in later features.
A large number of pits were identified in the north-west corner of the site and contained no dateable finds or charred remains. These pits are thought to represent an area of quarrying and, whilst poorly dated, are thought most likely to be post-medieval.