Bronze Age, Iron Age and Romano-British Archaeology on the March to Chatteris Anglian Water Pipeline, Cambridgeshire: An Archaeological Excavation

Cambridgeshire County Council Archaeological Field Unit (CCC AFU) undertook an archaeological investigation along the route of the March-Chatteris Main Pipeline. The work was commissioned by Anglian Water and took place from November 2005 to January 2006. All work was carried out in accordance with briefs issued by the Cambridgeshire Archaeology, Planning and Countryside Advice team (CAPCA, Thomas 2005) and supplemented by specifications prepared by CCC AFU (Macaulay 2005).
The pipeline route stretched for 6km from Chatteris to Wimblington, predominantly following the route of the A141 Isle of Ely Way and was 15m wide. Eighteen trenches were located in the northern 4km of the route to coincide with the non-fen deposits. They were numbered sequentially from north (1) to south (18). The evaluation determined the presence of sparse archaeological remains along the pipeline route, with an area of increased activity in Trench 13 and funeral pyre activity in Trench 17. The remains were dated from the Neolithic/Bronze Age to the Romano-British period, and also the late or post-medieval period. The main phase of occupation appears to have occurred from the 3rd century AD and was centred around Trench 13.
Archaeological remains were characterised by enclosures and other boundary ditches in a landscape used primarily for the keeping of livestock, particularly throughout the Iron Age and Romano-British period. Artefacts recovered, including loomweight fragments and quernstones, suggest that domestic activities such as weaving and grinding/milling were taking pace in the vicinity, although there is no direct evidence for domestic occupation itself.