The CHET brief required a programme of linear trial trenching to sample the site ahead of the construction of four new dwellings. The brief (Busby, L. 2025) required a programme of linear trial trenching to sample the area threatened by development. This was achieved by excavating a 15.00m x 1.80m trench and a 30.00m x 1.80m trench. From the 11th-14th November 2025 Britannia Archaeology Ltd (BA) undertook a trial trench evaluation on behalf of Mrs Brenda Sallis. The archaeological work was required as a condition of application 24/00060/FUL, for the construction of four new dwellings. The proposed development was to be undertaken in an area of moderate potential for features and finds relating to the Roman, Saxon and post-modern, specifically World War II periods. The potential for features and finds from all other periods was considered to be low. Despite the above potential, the archaeological evaluation identified evidence for later prehistoric and early Roman activity within the site. A refuse-enriched early to mid-Iron Age buried soil contained pottery, animal bone, daub and environmental remains interpreted as secondary domestic waste from nearby settlement activity. The site's location close to the edge of a fen island likely influenced this pattern of deposition, with marginal ground used for refuse disposal. Environmental evidence indicates high-temperature activity, associated with a cut feature interpreted as a possible kiln-, oven-, or hearth-type installation. Although the limited scope of the evaluation restricted full characterisation of the remains, the results indicate that the site forms part of a wider settlement landscape. When considered alongside nearby archaeological evidence from Grange Lane, the findings suggest the site represents a peripheral zone linked to domestic occupation, providing insight into land use and settlement activity.
Jonathan Grieves (Thu,) studied this question.