Archaeological Evaluation of Land at Manor Farm, Pertenhall, Bedfordshire

An archaeological evaluation was carried out on land to the south of Manor Farm, Pertenhall, Bedfordshire. The fieldwork took place between 10/12/14 and 22/12/14. Forty four trenches were excavated within five fields over an area of 22 hectares.
The trenches were all sited to the east of a series of magnetic anomalies that had been interpreted as a likely Roman villa, with the development area adjusted to allow preservation of these remains in situ. The evaluation revealed 13 ditches, 7 furrows and 4 possible pits, but spread out across the whole of the development area. No features relating directly to the villa were identified, with the few finds representing residual material. The land to the east of the suspected villa is low-lying and wet, overlying the Oxford Clay, and has clearly had minimal activity within it. It is most likely to have been damp pasture.