Bob's Wood, the Story So Far: An Introduction to the Hinchingbrooke Excavations

The forthcoming season of excavation on land adjacent to Bob's Wood in Hinchingbrooke is the latest stage in a series of investigations of a highly significant archaeological site which we have been undertaking since 1997. The current development area covers roughly 8.5ha and archaeological remains have been identified across much of this area. As a result Twigden Homes have commissioned us to undertake large scale excavations in advance of the development of the site for housing. The forthcoming development heralds the return of a resident population to this location in over 1500 years. Previous work on the site has indicated the presence of settlement related activity spanning the middle Iron Age through to at least the 4th century AD. Our impression at present is of a wholesale relocation of the settlement core southwards from the mid-late Iron Age. It would seem the core of the settlement drifts further south and east from the late Iron Age into the Romano-British period. Given the apparently key strategic location of this hilltop the drift may reflect a conscious desire to be seen to be physically dominating the local landscape overlooking Ermine Street. Artefacts recovered from previous stages of work on the site suggest relatively high status settlement throughout the history of occupation. The presence of a villa within the immediate vicinity of the site during the Roman period is highly likely.