Roman Cremations and Field System at Weybridge Farm, Alconbury

In November 1994, the Archaeological Field Unit of Cambridgeshire County Council undertook an archaeological evaluation on a large field at Weybridge Farm, Alconbury, as part of a proposal for gravel extraction of the area.

The site lies immediately north of the new A14 and Ellington Brook and to the west of the A1, between the villages of Brampton, Ellington and Alconbury, and straddling the Alconbury-Ellington parish boundary which follows the sinuous course of a relict stream channel.

The evaluation revealed an area of Roman activity on a headland in the northern, central part of the site. This was expressed by the discovery of several small ditches containing Romano-British material and a cremation burial of the same period (possibly 3rd century). Although this particular part of the site is not actually threatened itself by gravel extraction, it is thought that heavy machinery driving over any archaeological deposits would greatly disturb or destroy this valuable evidence.

Very little archaeological evidence was found in the lower area which will be affected by the immediate extraction developments. These consisted mainly of relict stream channels which were present in most of the trenches and pre-dating the overlying early medieval alluvium.