Water Main Renewal, Godmanchester to Hemingford Abbots, Cambridgeshire: Desk-Based Assessment

This study attempts to define the archaeological potential of land along the route of the proposed Godmanchester Water Main Renewal, running approximately from TL 2580 6850 to TL 2770 7130. It also attempts to determine the potential impact of the development proposals upon the archaeological resource and suggests possible mitigation strategies. The study was commissioned by Anglian Water. It is based upon existing sources, and the results of recent excavations in the area around the development zone.
The proposed route begins at a covered reservoir just north of Debden Farm and west of Wood Green Animal Shelter and then heads northwest alongside the A1198 (Ermine Street Roman road) towards Godmanchester. It turns abruptly to the northeast before reaching the town and passes to the southeast of Cardinal Distribution Park before crossing under the A14. Once across the A14, the pipeline route heads almost directly towards the Hemingford Abbots, where it terminates.
The study area lies in a zone of high archaeological potential within the landscape of the Great Ouse Valley. This area is rich in archaeological sites from the prehistoric periods onwards.
Prehistoric finds have been discovered close to the route and further away on the gravel terrace to the north of the town, where a unique monument was excavated in the early 1990s by English Heritage. The same site also revealed evidence of Bronze Age activity, and the potential exists to find similar sites along the northern part of the route.
The pipeline route partially parallels a Roman road (Ermine Street) and skirts a Roman town (Durovigutum). The area around the development zone has been subject to archaeological investigations that have revealed a Roman cemetery, enclosures and other features.
In the area immediately to the south and east of Cardinal Park, the route may reveal post-Roman features associated with the Anglo-Saxon settlement found there.
Towards Hemingford Abbots, the remains of medieval ridge and furrow will probably be encountered and this can mask earlier archaeology, which may then be revealed in the stripped easement.
Newly commissioned aerial photographic survey has been useful in establishing the location of archaeological remains within the study area, although these are mostly limited to the medieval period.