A newly discovered Roman small town south of Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire, has been given heritage protection as a scheduled monument by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the advice of Historic England.
Developers protect rare Roman site
The Roman town was identified following surveys carried out as part of the East Park Energy project, and initial archaeological investigations requested by Cambridgeshire County Council and Historic England. The Axis Planning team is the lead on planning and EIA for the East Park Energy, and arranged for AOC Archaeology (AOC) to undertake the geophysical survey which lead to this remarkable discovery.
Axis Project Lead, Associate Tom Roseblade said: “I’ve worked on a number of infrastructure projects in the past that have made interesting archaeological discoveries, but nothing quite like this! From the moment the preliminary geophysical survey results landed in my inbox from AOC it was clear we had something that could be of national interest.”
Recognising the historic importance of the remains, Brockwell Storage and Solar, who are developing the project, amended their plans and applied for heritage protection of the site.
To safeguard the Roman town, solar development is no longer proposed on the land. Historic England and Cambridgeshire County Council are advising East Park Energy on the care and management of the newly scheduled monument, to ensure that the story of this remarkable place can continue to be told and appreciated for future generations.
Continues Tom, “Axis is the lead on planning and EIA for the East Park Energy NSIP, and it’s been absolutely fascinating working alongside AOC, Cambridgeshire County Council and Historic England to understand the potential significance of this archaeological find, and to ensure its continued protection.”
A remarkable discovery
The town was first fully identified through aerial photography and crop marks.
Evaluation work carried out by AOC shows that the buried archaeological features are well preserved and extend across around 31 hectares.
The features discovered include ditches, pits and postholes, and gravel surfaces that represent roads or yard areas. Amongst the artefacts recovered are pottery (including Samian Ware), animal bone, glass, copper alloy objects, iron objects, coins, and shell.
A highly organised settlement
The remains show the extensive streets and buildings of a highly organised Roman settlement of urban character. Evidence suggests that pottery kilns and metal working forges may have existed. Traces of domestic and industrial activities, which would have supported a sizeable population, tell a story about the daily lives of people who lived in the town over several centuries. The cropmarks were previously recorded on the Cambridgeshire Historic Environment Record for this area.
The site appears to focus on a central open space, with trackways radiating from it, forming a network of roads. Between the roads, multiple rectangular enclosures are organised and planned. Away from the central space, cropmarks of numerous large pits suggest industrial activity of some kind. It is possible that former natural streams leading to the River Kym were altered to supply water or contribute to an industrial process. On the higher ground, overlooking the town, a Roman villa was located. Evidence also points to some smaller pre-Roman settlements in the area.
Additional Comments
Heritage Minister Sir Chris Bryant said: “As this newly discovered Roman Town shows, our history is full of remarkable and often inspiring stories. That’s why it is so important to unearth and burnish our historic treasures to protect them for generations to come.
“This gives us a rare insight into the history of a life long before ours and will continue to expand our knowledge and understanding of the Roman era.”
Duncan Wilson, Historic England Chief Executive, said: “This was clearly a significant Roman town. The scale and diversity of the archaeological features give a remarkable insight into Roman life in the East of England and help us to understand more about when people came to this place, how they lived and worked, and why they left. An extraordinary discovery which has an intriguing tale to tell. We are delighted to have secured the protection of this important archaeology with the full support of the developer.”
Gary Bird, Development Director at Brockwell Storage and Solar, said: “Following the remarkable findings identified by our archaeology team, we have worked closely with Historic England and Cambridgeshire County Council to ensure their protection. As a responsible developer and having considered these findings, we have sought to redesign our scheme to remove solar panels from this area in order to preserve the discovery. We look forward to working with Historic England, Cambridgeshire County and the landowner on options for how we can further assist and contribute to the maintenance and exploration of this important find in the future.”
Victoria Oleksy, Associate Director at AOC Archaeology, said: “It’s been really exciting for the AOC team to be part of the discovery of this site and for all of our sectors, from Consultancy to Geophysics and Fieldwork, to be involved. It’s quite rare to find such an archaeologically significant site and on such a large scale. The potential for the site to add to our understanding of Roman settlement is considerable. It is great that Brockwell have taken the steps to ensure that this asset can be preserved in situ.”
