Chesterton Station Sidings, Cambridge

Between the 17th and the 25th September 2012 Oxford Archaeology East carried out a watching brief on Ground Investigation works at Chesterton Station Sidings, Cambridge (TL 4745 6061) ahead of the construction of a new railway station with associated facilities. The 30 boreholes did not reveal any preserved archaeological deposits. Modern made ground was encountered in every hole to a depth of between 0.8m and 2m below ground level.
Following the watching brief a series of fourteen test pits were excavated over the course of three days (19th to 20th December 2012 and 3rd January 2013). The test pits measured 1.5m wide and between 2 and 2.4m long. Natural geology was encountered in three of the test pits in the south of the site (7, 8 and 10), at a depth of 1.2m; no archaeological features were present. Test Pits 8 and 10 also contained layers near the base which may have been the remnants of subsoil, which could pre-date the use of the site as railway sidings. The remaining test pits either flooded due to a high water table or contained made ground to a depth greater than 1.2m. Two further test pits (6 and 13), which should have brought the total number to sixteen, were not excavated due to services or cables in the vicinity.