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This archaeological desk based assessment has been commissioned by Januarys on behalf of the University of Cambridge and Corpus Christi, Jesus, Kings, Downing, Selwyn, and Queens Colleges to assess the potential impact of proposed development on land north and south of Barton Road, Cambridge. The area comprises c. 166 hectares on the west side of the City of Cambridge.

Cambridge Archaeological Unit undertook a series of excavations within the R and D Land at Babraham Research Campus, prior to the development of this area. The excavations revealed extensive archaeological remains including evidence for Neolithic activity; a continuation of the Romano-British settlement identified in previous phases of work and a medieval and post-medieval field-system, trackway, well together with a large number of quarry pits. The dominant phase of activity was Romano-British and included a substantial series of ditches which bounded the eastern edge of the settlement, seven structures, two wells, an irregular shaped enclosure and a large number of smaller drainage/boundary ditches and paddocks, together with pits and areas of quarrying.

Two 500m long auger borehole traverses and an archaeological trench evaluation were carried out at Gills Farm, Wissington near Methwold as part of an investigation of a buried sand island beneath the peat of Methwold Fen. This work was carried out in advance of the partial re-flooding of this former fen by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust in order to create a reedbed for use as a bird habitat. In 1989-90 the Fenland Survey undertook a programme of fieldwalking followed by an auger survey of the western part of the middle two fields, in which they identified two sites located upon emerging sand hills, both of these consisting of scatters of Earlier Neolithic pottery and flint. The recent auger survey commissioned by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit has helped to define the limits of this sand island and also to provide more comprehensive geological cross-sections of the Holocene sequence; in this case demonstrating the succession from Lower Fen Peat, to Fen Clay, silty mud and marl, wood peat, reed peat and finally the present cover of black dry peat. Five 30m long trenches were then dug at specified locations across the top of this sand island in order to investigate its archaeological potential. One of these trenches (Trench 5) located a thin buried soil with prehistoric finds including diagnostic fragments of Early Neolithic Mildenhall pottery, Rusticated Beaker and several Neolithic denticulated flint blades and waste flakes. Over 25m in diameter the latter site was buried beneath c. 0.4m of peat, and was located 100m to the east of the previously recorded sites. The discovery of this demonstrates the wider extent of early occupation, and also proves the existence of archaeology below the peat cover. A number of sample test pits were dug into the surviving buried soil, but only one of these produced a moderate number of finds. None of the soils sampled were waterlogged, and as a result the preservation of the environmental remains was moderately poor.

Prior to the commencement of work in the CB1 area no certain evidence of prehistoric activity was known within the study area. The site lies in the broader hinterland area of the Roman town of Cambridge, a zone from which direct evidence of activity from this period remains scarce despite several recent investigations. Some of the gravel extraction activity found at Site I was dated to the medieval period. Small amounts of medieval (14th century and later) pottery were recovered in the Cattle Market evaluation, probably indicating nothing more than general agricultural activity. Otherwise, the only archaeological finds dating from this period lie at some distance from the development site. The map sequence between 1807 and the present day shows the development of the area in which the site lies as the City of Cambridge gradually expanded beyond its medieval boundaries in the later nineteenth century.

This Archaeological Statement has been prepared by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit to support the full planning application for 50 and 60 Station Road. The wider archaeological and historic context of the development area and results from the principal investigations conducted as part of the broader CB1 development are first outlined below, which is followed by specific-area mitigation scheme proposals.

The Cambridge Archaeological Unit undertook an archaeological investigation at Trumpington Meadows, Cambridge in advance of a housing project. An excavation was undertaken on three predetermined areas between June 2010 and May 2011 (Areas A, B and C), which was followed by the archaeological monitoring of the construction of a 'swale' and balancing ponds, and a playing field. These investigations identified three main periods of activity, the Neolithic, Iron Age, and Anglo-Saxon. Two Neolithic burial monuments, along with pits and a possible spring were excavated. Early Bronze Age cremations were found in association with the monuments and a double Beaker burial was excavated set apart from any earlier activity. The main component of the excavation was a large Iron Age settlement, a continuation of that identified at the Trumpington Park and Ride in 2000. This was a large open settlement that comprised hundreds of pits of Early to Middle Iron Age date that initially focused upon grain and grain storage, and developed into a more intensive and diverse settlement with crafting activities such as metalworking. By the Middle Iron Age proper the nature of the settlement changed and the large open settlement was replaced by a one that comprised smaller enclosed parcels of land. There were two phases of Anglo- Saxon activity. The first was dated to the Middle Saxon period and centred on a group of four burials and six structures. The structures comprised five Sunken Feature Buildings (SFBs) and a post built structure. Of particular note was the burial of a young female upon a bed with a gold and garnet pectoral cross. The second phase of activity was dated to the Late Saxon period with a series of enclosures replacing the earlier buildings.

Prior to the commencement of work in the CB1 area no certain evidence of prehistoric activity was known within the study area. The site lies in the broader hinterland area of the Roman town of Cambridge, a zone from which direct evidence of activity from this period remains scarce despite several recent investigations. Some of the gravel extraction activity found at Site I was dated to the medieval period. Small amounts of medieval (14th century and later) pottery were recovered in the Cattle Market evaluation, probably indicating nothing more than general agricultural activity. Otherwise, the only archaeological finds dating from this period lie at some distance from the development site. The map sequence between 1807 and the present day shows the development of the area in which the site lies as the City of Cambridge gradually expanded beyond its medieval boundaries in the later nineteenth century.

On behalf of Hanson UK, a further programme of excavation and recording was undertaken within the palaeochannel at Must Farm quarry prior to mineral extraction. Some 200m (approximately 1.0 Hectare) of the fresh water channel was investigated in detail between June 2011 and October 2012 together with the roddon and the underlying sequence of earlier channels and old former surfaces through which it carved. The palaeochannel was stripped under strictly controlled conditions in order to best facilitate the identification of potential archaeological materials within. In addition, baulks were strategically left in place to allow for the comparison of deposition sequence along the length of the channel, these were later removed as the final stage of the process. The excavation exposed not only a significant quantity of later prehistoric wooden structures including fish traps, weirs, and post alignments, but also eight well preserved later Bronze Age/ Early Iron Age logboats, each unique in form. The significance of these logboats lies not only in their collection as a group of artefacts, but in the quality of the contextual detail in which they were discovered. In addition, a number of artefacts of both organic and non-organic material were uncovered demonstrating the extent of exploitation within and more importantly throughout the channel's existence. This is reflected in the collection of metalwork which also spans approximately 1200 years and includes bronze swords, daggers, rings, rapiers, a razor, a pin, a brooch and iron swords still riveted to their wooden handles.

An archaeological evaluation and excavation was undertaken by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) in October 2011, on land to the east of Anglesey Abbey, Lode, Cambridgeshire. Three evaluation trenches were initially opened, one of which was expanded into a small open area excavation. Archaeology remains excavated comprised elements of a Late Bronze Age settlement, a Romano-British droveway or trackway and evidence of extensive Post-Medieval quarrying.

An archaeological investigation was undertaken between July and August 2012 during refurbishment works conducted at Chapel Court, St. Catharine's College, Cambridge. Three trenches were excavated at this time, two of which comprised tree-planting pits whilst the third connected the preceding areas in order to allow the instillation of a below-ground hydration system. The earliest deposit to be encountered at the site consisted of a 14th century garden-soil layer. During the 15th century, this was succeeded by two long-lived, multi-phased ancillary buildings with associated yard surfaces. In Trench 1, the building sequence was terminated during the late 16th or early 17th century when a substantial boundary wall, which demarcated the limit of the contemporary college precinct, was constructed. This wall then itself went out of use during the late 17th century when the nearby college chapel was constructed. By the time work on this new building was completed, in 1704, the surrounding ground surface had been substantially raised - thereby sealing the earlier deposits - and the archaeological sequence effectively became 'capped'. In Trench 2, a very similar sequence was encountered. In this location, however, the initial 15th century structure appears to have survived in use, with many phases of alteration and rebuilding, until 1966, when Chapel Court itself was constructed.

This archaeological desk top assessment was requested by Januarys on behalf of Homerton College to assess the likely impact of development of the Homerton Business Centre, Purbeck Road, Cambridge (TL 4591 5636), covering an area of 1.267ha. Examination of the archaeological, historical, aerial and cartographic evidence shows the site to be situated in an area of low archaeological potential that has undergone significant urban development and change since the construction of the Cambridge to London mainline railway line in 1845 and subsequent urban expansion and redevelopment of south Cambridge. Nonetheless, pockets of surviving archaeology have been found in the study area and adjacent to the Homerton Business Centre, primarily dating from the Medieval and later periods, and as such, the possibility of encountering in situ archaeology within the proposed development area cannot be entirely excluded.

Archaeological evaluation was undertaken across a c.83ha area located on the eastern side of the River Great Ouse at its junction with the fens at Earith/Haddenham (centred on TL 39900 73500).The investigation area constituted the fourth mitigation phase of Hanson's Over/Needingworth Quarry and encompassed an area immediately to the east of the existing quarry including the site of Willingham Mere; a former lake extending over some 37ha within the eastern half of proposed development zone. Investigations revaled a buried landscape comprising a series of submerged terraces around a shallow valley system. Within this landscape, which pre-dates the formation of Willingham Mere proper (during Roman period) evidence of archaeological activity was largely confined to the gravel terraces. Archaeological remains recorded include Grooved Ware and Peterborough Ware associated Neolithic pits, a 'cache' of Neolithic flint nodules amongst which was a polished axe, an Early Bronze Age hearth, a Middle Bronze Age palstave and elements of a probably Middle Bronze Age fieldsystem.