Land east of Langford Road, Langford, Bedfordshire: Archaeological Evaluation

The evaluation fieldwork comprised the excavation of 25 trenches: " 1no. 20m x 2m trench; " 13no. 30m x 2m trenches; and " 11no. 50m x 2m trenches. The trenches were located to test geophysical anomalies and the cropmark trackway, as well as apparently blank areas, and to provide a representative sample of the remainder of the Site. In June 2024, Cotswold Archaeology carried out an archaeological evaluation of land east of Langford Road, Langford, Bedfordshire. A total of 25 trenches were excavated across the site, targeting anomalies identified by a preceding geophysical survey, as well as a cropmark, and testing apparently blank areas. Parts of a Roman enclosure system broadly matching geophysical anomalies were identified across Trenches 18-20. A possible trackway running across Trenches 5, 7 and 11, that appeared as a cropmark, and possible associated field boundary ditches in Trenches 3 and 6 however had not been identified by the survey. The dating and nature of the ditches in Trenches 3 and 6 remained somewhat unclear, although these features may form part of the same Roman agricultural landscape. The pottery assemblage recovered during the fieldwork was exclusively Roman in date and comprised a mix of predominantly utilitarian fine and coarseware pottery, including a large proportion of regionally produced wares suggesting good access to markets supplying a wide range of products. Three Dorset black-burnished ware dishes (two intact, one complete but fragmented) and a single flat rimmed dish were recovered from pit 1803. The presence of tegulae within the finds assemblage may suggest a Roman structure in the vicinity of the site, although from the small quantities of ceramic building material recovered the evidence is inconclusive. The animal bone assemblage was described as fragmentary and poorly preserved, however, some fragments of cattle and sheep/goat could be identified alongside horse and domestic fowl, with a mixture of mostly meat-poor skeletal elements being noted. The environmental evidence suggests that the site was situated away from any core area of settlement activity. The mollusc shells recovered from the samples appear to indicate an open local landscape, with some possible seasonal flooding in the north-west portion of the site. It is possible that the site was located on the edge of a possible settlement located to the east/south-east, which has been previously recorded through cropmarks. The trackway recorded in the northern portion of the site may represent an agricultural path; no metalling of the trackway surface was identified. The remains of medieval/post-medieval ridge and furrow cultivation were observed across the majority of the site, including a north/south aligned system in the southernmost field and a north-east/south-west aligned system in the north-eastern field. A former field boundary in Trench 17 could not be matched to any geophysical anomaly, but the feature was seen to correspond with a boundary line depicted on 1888-1913 Ordnance Survey mapping of the area.