From Mesolithic to Motorway The archaeology of the M1 (Junction 6a-10) Widening Scheme, Hertfordshire Oxfrod Monograph 14

A programme of archaeological work was undertaken
by Oxford Archaeology in advance of
engineering works to relieve congestion along the
M1 between Junctions 6a to 10, a length of about
15km, stretching roughly south to north from a point
east of Hemel Hempstead to just south of Luton, on
the Bedfordshire border. The work was commissioned
by Atkins Heritage, acting on behalf of
Balfour Beatty/Skanska Joint Venture who under -
took the M1 widening scheme for the Highways
Agency.
Significant remains of prehistoric, Roman and
medieval date were encountered. Important
evidence for late Mesolithic and early Neolithic
activity, including pit features, was recovered from
Junction 9. Later prehistoric evidence was less
concentrated; ephemeral features adjacent to The
Aubreys hillfort were poorly dated, but cremation
burials and scattered features of late Bronze Age
date came from Junction 8 Southbound, which also
produced probable Iron Age features, with other
evidence of this period coming from Junction 8
Northbound and the adjacent Buncefield Depot site.
The most widespread evidence was from the late
Iron Age and Roman periods. Significant settlement-
related features of this date occurred at
Junction 8 Northbound and Junction 9, and to a
lesser extent at the intervening Site M. Ditched
trackways and enclosures were characteristic of all
these sites, and further probable trackway ditches
were present at Site P. Structural evidence was
minimal, except for hearths and ovens, and the sites
seem to have been of fairly low status and
concerned with mixed agriculture. The evidence for
earlier Roman occupation was generally stronger
than that for the late Roman period. At Junction 8
Northbound, however, an east-west trackway
seems to have survived as a landscape feature and
in the 12th and 13th centuries was adjoined by a
ditched enclosure containing a post-built structure.
A few medieval features were also encountered in
areas just to the north of Junction 8 Northbound, but
were otherwise absent, nor were any significant
post-medieval features found.