Roman Settlement at the former Unwins Nursery site, Impington Lane, Impington

Between 27th July and 21st August 2009 OA East (formerly Cambridgeshire County Council's CAM ARC) carried out an archaeological excavation at the former Unwins nursery site, Impington Lane (centred on TL 4430 6350), Impington, Cambridgeshire. The work was commissioned by Campbell Buchanan in advance of construction of residential properties on the site. This was subsequent to an evaluation conducted by OA East, which had revealed two phases of activity spanning the Late Iron Age to 2nd century AD.
The excavation uncovered evidence for human activity comprising features and deposits spanning the Iron Age to modern periods, although features directly associated with settlement appeared to date predominantly to the Roman period (AD43 – AD410).
Much of the evidence for Iron Age activity on the site is residual with few features being positively dated to this period, these included a segment of a possible roundhouse and associated postholes and pits in the central part of the site.
The evidence for Roman activity was far more extensive and comprised numerous phases of occupation spanning the entire period. Although no direct evidence for habitation was recorded within the development area itself the analysis of the artefactual material, especially pottery, suggests that the site lay in the immediate vicinity of a previously-unrecorded settlement. Although this was probably of relatively low status, it was potentially quite extensive and long lived.