Millbrook Power, Bedfordshire

Between 10th September and 2nd October 2019 Oxford Archaeology East (OAE) conducted an evaluation to the north of the village of Millbrook, Bedfordshire, on behalf of Drax Power Ltd. A total of 40 trenches were opened by machine, as part of a development consent order (DCO) for the Millbrook Power Scheme. The proposed development was for an electricity sub-station and a gas pipeline.
The evaluation revealed the continuation of a known Romano-British settlement in the north-west of the development area and scattered archaeological features of indeterminate date along the route of a proposed pipeline to the east and south-east.
The Romano-British activity was concentrated within the area of a proposed electricity sub-station, where Trenches 1-9 were located. The majority of features, which consisted of ditches, a pit and a posthole, were encountered in Trench 9. This part of the site was directly adjacent to a known farmstead, previously excavated by Albion Archaeology, which originated in the Middle Iron Age and continued in use until the Late Roman period. Romano-British features from the evaluation produced pottery dating to the 1st-2nd centuries AD (136 sherds, 682g) and animal bone.
A small number of features (seven in total) were found in the remaining 31 trenches, which were spread along the route of the proposed pipeline. All the features were undated and the only dating evidence from the pipeline trenches came from a layer in Trench 40, which contained post-medieval pottery, a single iron nail and two fragments of animal bone.