Library

At the request of Trinity College archaeological monitoring was conducted on the driving of three bore holes on the west bank of the Cam opposite the main college site as part of exploratory works to establish the impact of a concrete base for a statue to be potentially erected at the site. The results indicate that there may be evidence of activity on the west bank of the Cam to be revealed in the hole that would be excavated to construct the base for the statue. It is recommended that such an excavation is archaeologically monitored with the capacity for excavation should coherent deposits be revealed. The impact on the archaeological resource relating to the Backs will be small, but this is a very rare opportunity to acquire data not otherwise available.

A preliminary recording project was undertaken within the churchyard of St Bene't's Church, Cambridge, in advance of proposed development. A group of gravestones that have been reused as paving around a 19th century hand-pump located on the edge of the cemetery were recorded. This work took place as part of a broader desk-based assessment of St Bene't's, standing elements of which date to c. 1050 and represent the only extant pre-Conquest building in the city, and one of only two in the county.

This report, dealing specifically with archaeological issues, is submitted in support of a planning application for the development within the CB1 Masterplan identified as 10 and 20 Station Road.

Evaluation over an area of 50 hectares, wherein dense archaeology from early prehistoric to Medieval periods was represented. Five main 'sites' were identified. Early Neolithic pottery and flint was found in quantity in later prehistoric features; these being of Late Bronze to Early Iron Age date. This included three ditched enclosures, one on a hill slope with a nearby contemporary burial, and the other two with limited signs of occupation. Unenclosed Mid to Late Iron Age settlement supersedes the enclosures. extensive Roman activity may be connected with a nearby villa estate. Much of this appears to be field systems, with occupation at the north and south edges of the PDA. An early Saxon cemetery lies within one of the prehistoric enclosures, with Saxo-Norman settlement set within an enclosure on the south edge of the PDA. The foundations of four Medieval windmills were also identified; these being of postmill design and dating to the fourteenth century.

Archaeological monitoring was undertaken within the Main Court of St
Catharine's College, Cambridge, during the installation of a new water main.
Although the trench was limited in depth, a number of remains were nevertheless encountered. These primarily consisted of brick-built footings thatwere probably associated with the earliest iteration of St Catharine's Hall. Initially established in 1473, over the course of the succeeding two centuries the nascent college underwent a gradual, piecemeal process of expansion as aseries of new courts were appended to the original foundation. Despite being situated in close proximity, the structural remains identified during the current project demonstrated a number of differing alignments, thereby underlining the relatively ad hoc process of the college's architectural development. Eventually,between 1673 and 1704, the earlier buildings were swept away and present-day Main Court constructed.

A trench-based evaluation was undertaken within the Fellow's Gardenat Jesus College, Cambridge, in advance of the redevelopment of thePorter's Lodge. The presence of a medieval horticultural soil wasidentified, associated with the former Benedictine nunnery of StRadegund. Subsequently, at the end of the 15th century when thenunnery was converted into Jesus College, the site appears to havebeen landscaped and the ground level raised. Furtherlandscaping/planting bed deposits were also encountered of 19thcentury date, attesting to the long-lived usage of the area as agarden.

Archaeological excavations by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit revealed significant evidence relating to three phases ofactivity: domestic occupation of the site from c. 1050 onwards, theAugustinian friary of c. 1275/89-1538 and activity after theDissolution in 1538. The pre-friary domestic occupation of c.1050-1275/89 probably related to one or two properties frontingonto Bene't Street/Wheeler Street. There were two phases ofactivity associated with the friary. The first phase c. 1275/89-1320/40 was concentrated at the northern end of the site,comprising a small portion of a building, probably the southernside of the church, and a cemetery with 32 burials. The secondfriary phase c. 1320/40-1538 represents a major phase of buildingwith possibly part of the friary church and three buildings fromthe eastern range of cloisters identified. The best preservedbuilding can be identified as the chapter house and contained sixburials. There are a range of pits and other features linked to theDissolution and later activity.

Archaeological excavation at Dairy Farm, Renhold, covered an area of 23.552 hectares within thevalley and floodplain of the Great River Ouse, southeast of Bedford. Early prehistoric palaeosolsand palaeochannels were found concealed either by colluvium hillwash or by waterborne alluvium.Large artefact assemblages of Terminal Late Upper Palaeolithic and Late Mesolithic activity wererecovered in situ from the palaeosols. A single pit was dated to the Middle Neolithic. Evidence forEarly to Middle Bronze Age settlement was limited but included a large pit-well that containedaurochs skulls and deer antler. Two overlapping phases of field boundaries span the Early to LateBronze Age and may have remained as prominent features into the later Iron Age. Just two pitswere confidently dated to the Late Bronze Age and Middle Iron Age, but there were numerousundated features across the site, including in two groups. Two Beaker associated inhumationsrepresent the earliest known funerary activity on the site, along with two Middle Bronze Age ringditches with central pit cremation burials, one within an urn. Other undated pit cremation burialsmay relate to known funerary or ceremonial monuments not included in the excavations. Palaeochannel deposits contained artefacts of the Middle Iron Age to the third century. A small number of Roman artefacts were recovered as surface finds as well as in Saxon features and hint towards nearby settlement. An inhumation cemetery dated to the late fourth to early sixth century may belong to an Antique or transitionary phase between Roman and Saxon traditions. One of the graves may have contained a bed or bier. Saxon settlement was defined by a group of three sunken floored buildings with related pits and pit-wells, and a fourth building was identified separate to these. Pottery indicates that the settlement functioned across the fifth to sixth century and had ceased operation by the seventh century. No further settlement occurred as the landscape was given to furrow and then pasture across the Medieval and post-Medieval eras, with pockets of minor quarrying.

Milton Road Library was constructed in 1936-37, at the peak of popularity for public libraries across Britain. It was designed by the Borough Engineer and Surveyor for Cambridge, G. W. Teasdale, in the then prevalent Art Deco style. Although small, its layout reflected many of the prevailing library design ideas of the period. Public space was subdivided by function and class/gender into three principal rooms - the main Lending Library, a Reading Room and a Juvenile Room - access to which was closely supervised. Functional spaces in the form of a staffroom, cloakroom, toilet and storeroom were also provided, along with a small basement that housed a boiler and coal store. Overall, the building represents a good, if somewhat unremarkable, example of its type.

Archaeological monitoring was conducted in Cloister Court, Jesus College, Cambridge, during remedial works being undertaken to the Court's walls. Cement-based render was removed from the north and east walls during this phase of the project, and elements of the College's historic fabric revealed. This included remnants of the medieval nunnery and material pertaining to the initial establishment of Jesus College at the end of the 15th century, as well as its subsequent development up to the present day.

A trial trench based archaeological evaluation was undertaken by Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) at the University of Cambridge sports pitches and athletics track, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge (TL 4320 5851) between 11th and 18th October 2017. The trial trenching programme consisted of two trenches (totalling 220m in length). Archaeological remains comprised a series of Roman ditches, two medieval plough furrows and a number of post-medieval-modern boundary ditches. The ditches all appear to represent land division/boundaries (although two parallel Roman ditches potentially represent a trackway or roadway) and no settlement features per se were encountered. Having said that, a number of the ditches yielded small assemblages of Roman pottery and oyster shell - with one also producing a 4th century AD coin - that appear likely to be settlement-derived. As such, the remains are interpreted as 'edge of settlement', with the ditches potentially marking the southern/eastern limit of a nearby settlement site, which could extend into the west of the proposed development area

The excavations encountered considerable Neolithic-Early Bronze Age remains, comprising a cursus with internal post alignment, oval enclosure which can be attributed to the 'mortuary enclosure' classification of monument, and a mound. These monuments demonstrate a continuation of the Neolithic complex identified at Manor Farm Quarry, Old Wolverton. Further archaeology included Middle-Late Bronze Age watering holes and a Late Bronze Age-Iron Age pit alignment. The pit alignment had preserved banks and other up cast features, as well as, waterlogged preservation of environmental material including evidence for the construction of a fence and a hedge. Further environmental evidence was provided by a palaeochannel representing the pre-Iron age course of the Great Ouse River, and significant burnt deposits in the tree throws indicating burning as a strategy for woodland clearance or management.