A Ring Ditch at Third Drove, Fengate, Peterborough

Between September 14th and 30th 1998 the Archaeological Field Unit of Cambridgeshire County Council carried out an archaeological investigation of a plot of land off Third Drove, Peterborough (TL 2135/9866). The work was commissioned by Mr M. Walters Office before the sale and development of the site.

Following completion of a desktop assessment of archaeological potential and an archaeological evaluation, excavation revealed a multi-phase ring ditch with a central cremation. Two phases of the ring ditch were identified, a V shaped ditch penannular in plan re-cut by a shallower U shaped ditch which completed the circuit. This finding was of particular significance because ring ditches which are burial related are under-represented within the Fengate landscape.

Interpretation of this site was hindered by a sever truncation of the archaeological deposits and a paucity of artefacts recovered. However it is plausible that the ring ditch formed part of a hengiform monument or a barrow. It may be the case that attempts to cattegorise these smaller monuments within the traditional classifications are unhelpful since their use changed over time. Therefore it may be more useful to view the ring ditch at Third Drove in terms of a monument that was evolving, using several of the constructional elements present in monuments of the Neolithic and Bronze Age.