The earliest firm evidence for activity was located in the western part of the road corridor and comprised small pits, large pits and a ring-ditch, broadly dated to Neolithic/early Bronze Age. During the late Bronze Age/early Iron Age an enclosure containing evidence of domestic activity was also established at the west end of the road corridor. Activity continued into the early-middle Iron Age in the form of an extensive field system and dispersed settlement. A late Iron Age/early Roman enclosure system was found adjacent to the River Great Ouse at the eastern end of the bypass. The quantity and nature of the finds assemblage suggests that this was associated with a farmstead. Roman-period activity was limited to a north-south aligned trackway located within the western section of the road corridor. Furrows indicative of medieval strip fields were identified along the bypass corridor, but most extensively within the balancing pond at the east end. Extensive postmedieval quarry pits were found at either end of the western section of the bypass. Planning consent was granted for the construction of a single carriageway to link the A428 Bromham Road (at its junction with Gold Lane/Deep Spinney) and the A6 Clapham Road (at its junction with the old Bedford Road). The proposed development area lies on the north-west edge of Bedford, to the north of the village of Biddenham and to the east of the village of Bromham. A desk-based assessment and evaluation of the majority of the route determined that the proposed development crossed a landscape with a number of heritage assets. These dated from the prehistoric to the modern period, with specific foci in the Neolithic/Bronze Age, Iron Age and Romano-British periods. Archaeological fieldwork was undertaken intermittently deliberately well in advance of the commencement of construction work. T The earliest firm evidence for activity was located in the western part of the road corridor and comprised small pits, large pits and a ring-ditch, broadly dated to Neolithic- early Bronze Age. During the late Bronze Age/early Iron Age an enclosure containing evidence of domestic activity was also established at the west end of the road corridor. Activity continued into the early-middle Iron Age in the form of an extensive field system and dispersed settlement. A late Iron Age/early Roman enclosure system was found adjacent to the River Great Ouse at the eastern end of the bypass. The quantity and nature of the finds assemblage suggests that this was associated with a farmstead. Roman-period activity was limited to a north-south aligned trackway located within the western section of the road corridor. Furrows indicative of medieval strip fields were identified along the bypass corridor, but most extensively within the balancing pond at the east end. Extensive post-medieval quarry pits were found at either end of the western section of the bypass. These may have destroyed Roman heritage assets believed to have once existed in these areas. Contemporary with the quarrying in the east part of the western section of the bypass was a limekiln and associated building.
Meckseper et al. (Sun,) studied this question.