Ely Southern Crossing

In March 2012 Oxford Archaeology East, on behalf of Cambridgeshire County Council, conducted a desk-based assessment and monitored a series of boreholes in advance of the construction of a new road link bypassing the southern part of Ely, Cambridgeshire. The study area covered all five possible routes of the bypass (A – E) and the surrounding land, while the boreholes were located along Route B (aka The Scheme) only. The aim of the assessment was to collate all known information concerning the location, extent, survival and significance of archaeological remains along the proposed routes, as well as assessing the potential for further buried remains. The assessment concentrated specifically on the direct impact of
construction but did not consider the visual impact a bypass would have on the setting of Ely's historic core and cathedral.
The desk-based assessment has shown that only low-level archaeological remains are known along any of the proposed routes of the bypass. The evidence mainly relates to findspots including a Late Bronze Age metalwork hoard in the south of the study area and a number of Roman finds in the north of the area. The majority of finds were restricted to the higher ground around the south side of Ely and at Stuntney, and it is within these areas that further remains are most likely to be encountered. The putative Roman dock at Stuntney is within the area studied but is unlikely to be affected by any of the proposed routes. The ancient course of the River Great Ouse extends through the south of the study area and should be considered not only as a possible source of artefacts but also as a palaeoenvironmental resource which may require some level of recording if it were affected
by construction.
The borehole survey revealed an underlying sequence of clays, including Kimmeridge and Boulder Clay, sealed along most of the route by a layer of peat. The peat was not present at the western end of the route, providing an approximate location for the fen edge. Window sample 6 contained a slightly compact layer of sand and gravel 1.2m below ground level, which could indicate the presence of a gravel outcrop or 'island'.