Roman and Post-Medieval Remains on Land North-West of Ely, Cambridgeshire (Field G)

Between the 14th January and the 6th February 2019 Oxford Archaeology East (OA East) undertook a c. 0.5ha open area excavation on land (Field G) to the north of Cam Drive, Ely, north-west of the historic core of the city (TL 53762 81569). The site lies in a larger parcel of land designated for development as part of the Ely Masterplan. Previous archaeological works across the whole development area, in the form of a geophysical survey and trial trench evaluation, had identified, in Field G, linear features presumed to be Roman cultivation rows and two large curvilinear ditches, the finds assemblage from which suggested a 16th century date. The excavation found that the linear features formed a rectilinear Roman field system, whilst the large curvilinear ditches formed an enclosure around a cross-shaped beam slot associated with a windmill. The pottery and ceramic building material (CBM) assemblage from these ditches indicated a continuity of use stretching across the late medieval to post-medieval periods. Also revealed were a large prehistoric pit and ditches forming a probable post-medieval enclosure. Within the enclosure were the remains of a wall and well probably associated with a structure present on first edition OS mapping. Several early modern drainage and boundary ditches completed the sequence. As well as a large assemblage of medieval and post-medieval pottery and CBM from the windmill enclosure ditches, finds of note included nine rare examples of worked cattle and horse bone identified as windmill spindle raps.