Library
Publishing is a core part of the CAU's work so results from our excavations can be read and used by archaeologists, students, planners and the general public.
For over 30 years the CAU has published twenty monographs along with over 150 articles in academic journals. Many are available to download for free.
All of our site reports produced before October 2022 are available to download for free. Search for them by text or using the map. All our reports and our growing collection of digital archives are permanently accessible at the University of Cambridge's digital repository, Apollo.
Browse the results below
888
Womb Farm, Chatteris, Cambridgeshire. An Archaeological Evaluation
Collins, M. (2009). Womb Farm, Chatteris, Cambridgeshire. An Archaeological Evaluation. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 888
A total of 23 trenches and 6 test pits were excavated and showed this site has been utilised for intensive quarrying particularly in the post medieval and modern periods, but also during the Mid to Late Romano-British period. Apart from the multiphase quarrying, the only other archaeology present was dated post medieval and consisted of former field boundaries, furrows and possible planting beds.
889
Cambridge South. An Archaeological Desktop Assessment
Dickens, A. (2009). Cambridge South. An Archaeological Desktop Assessment. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 889
This study has been commissioned by Bidwells on behalf of the Cambridge South Consortium to better define the scope of archaeological interest in land to the south of Cambridge. The Proposed Development Area (PDA) lies in fields immediately south of the new Addenbrooke�s Link Road, bounded by Shelford Road to the east, Hauxton Road and the M11 to the west and the King�s Cross branch of the Cambridge to London Railway line to the south. The area extends over c. 170 hectares (ha), centred at TL449 530 (Figure 1).
890
Spong Drove, Willingham. An Archaeological Evaluation
Hutton, J. (2009). Spong Drove, Willingham. An Archaeological Evaluation. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 890
An archaeological evaluation was undertaken on land off of Spong Drove, Willingham, Cambridgeshire involving a programme of six trenches that were intially machine excavated with a further judgemental trench opened towards the end of the excavation programme. Numerous archaeological features in the form of postholes, pits and linears were cut into a buried soil, in addition to midden-type deposits. Pottery recovered from across the site indicated occupation of the locale from the Late Bronze Age through to the 4th century AD. Building material, in the form of roof tiles, may indicate the presence of a Romano-British structure within the immediate vicinity.
891
A Fieldwalking Survey of the Proposed A14 route between Ellington and Girton
Anderson, K., Hall, D., and Standring, R. (2009). A Fieldwalking Survey of the Proposed A14 route between Ellington and Girton. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 891
Fieldwalking was undertaken along the route of proposed improvements to the A14 road on behalf of Costain Skanska Joint Venture for the Highways Agency. The fieldwalking was divided into two phases, which aimed to first identify and then investigate potential archaeological sites along the planned route. The first phase of fieldwalking comprised a double line transect which was walked along the part of the proposed route between Ellington and Girton This work was undertaken in order to identify artefact scatters indicative of potential archaeological sites that would be examined by the second phase, a more detailed grid walking for total area collection. During the transect phase, three main areas were identified as having a higher than average number of finds that warranted further investigation as potential archaeological sites. Evidence for Mesolithic/Neolithic, Bronze Age, Roman, Saxon, and Medieval activity was recorded within three sites
892
Ormiston-Bushfield Academy, Peterborough. An Archaeological Evaluation
Slater, A. (2009). Ormiston-Bushfield Academy, Peterborough. An Archaeological Evaluation. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 892
Evaluation trenches at Ormiston Bushfield Academy, Peterbrough were requested by Peterbrough City Council in order to assess the archaeological impact of proposed development withing part of the associated playing fields. Four trenches totalling 180m in length reveraled features associated with the medieval and post-medieval agricultural use of the land as well as demonstrating the impact of late 20th century landscaping of the area.
893
St. John's College Playing Fields, Cambridge: An Archaeological Evaluation
Cessford, C. (2009). St. John's College Playing Fields, Cambridge: An Archaeological Evaluation. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 893
An archaeological evaluation consisting of six trenches and one soakaway totalling 46.8m2 was undertaken at St. John's College Playing Fields, Cambridge. The evaluation revealed a ditch and a number of gravel quarry pits, probably dating to the Early Roman period. No evidence of the St. John's College Racquets Court Anglo-Saxon cemetery or the early 13th century Franciscan and later Trinity College conduit known to be located in the general vicinity were present in the evaluation trenches. It is likely that the cemetery lies to the northwest of the proposed development area, while subsequent research indicates that the conduit probably does run through the proposed development area.
894
Northern Extension, Baston No. 1 Quarry Lincolnshire: An Archaeological Evaluation
Hutton, J. (2009). Northern Extension, Baston No. 1 Quarry Lincolnshire: An Archaeological Evaluation. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 894
Hanson Aggregates are currently promoting a site known as Baston No.1 Quarry, Cross Road, Baston
895
Lattenbury Farm, Cambridgeshire: An Archaeological Evaluation
Hutton, J. (2009). Lattenbury Farm, Cambridgeshire: An Archaeological Evaluation. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 895
An archaeological evaluation was carried out at Lattenbury Farm, Cambridgeshire to address a condition placed upon planning permission for the construction of two agricultural buildings (a cattle shed and a machinery store). The trenches revealed no significant archaeological remains other than a filled-in ditched field boundary in Trench 3 that contained modern rubble and other building debris.
896
No. 7 West Road, Cambridge. An Archaeological Evaluation
Collins, M. (2009). No. 7 West Road, Cambridge. An Archaeological Evaluation. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 896
A total of two test pits and two trenches were excavated which revealed a probable Post Medieval field boundary and related features, evidence for Victorian quarrying and residual, probable Anglo-Saxon quern stone suggesting nearby activity dating to that period.
897
No. 39 Shelford Road, Cambridge. An Archaeological Evaluation
Collins, M. (2009). No. 39 Shelford Road, Cambridge. An Archaeological Evaluation. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 897
Three trenches were excavated in the grounds of No. 39 Shelford Road, no archaeological features were present and only Victorian and modern finds were recovered from within the topsoil and subsoil.
898
An Excavation at Summersfield, Papworth Everard, Cambridgeshire.
Patten, R. (2009). An Excavation at Summersfield, Papworth Everard, Cambridgeshire.. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 898
An archaeological Excavation expanded upon the results of the evaluation, providing further evidence for the Romano-British settlement and the later prehistoric and Anglo-Saxon activity which bracketed it. Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age settlement was recorded with two short segments of ditch and two small pits. This expanded in the Middle and Late Iron Age with three enclosures and four roundhouses attesting to the growth and establishment of the settlement. The development continued into the Romano-British period with the presence of a probable farmstead, which was serviced by a trackway which branched off Ermine Street across the ridge. The farmstead comprised a series of enclosures representing four different forms of activity; settlement, horticulture, crop processing, and the management of livestock.There was then a hiatus in activity, during the early Anglo-Saxon period when the settlement at Summersfield was abandoned. By the later Anglo-Saxon period, settlement to the north of the excavation encroached into Summersfield and five separate enclosures were recorded. These represented the edges of a settlement which was most likely centred on the church of St. Peter. Subsequently Summersfield became open fields and medieval cultivation was recorded throughout the excavation.
899
Babraham Research Campus, Proposed Building B270. an Archaeological Evaluation
Timberlake, S. (2009). Babraham Research Campus, Proposed Building B270. an Archaeological Evaluation. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 899
Between 12th-14th August 2009 the Cambridge Archaeological Unit carried out a small archaeological evaluation (90m of trenching) within the Babraham Research Campus prior to the construction of a new building (B270 ) some 200m to the north of the river and to the east of the Hall. Within most of this area the top of the chalk outcrop and overlying gravels lay close to the surface, though the absence of archaeology here does not appear to be due to any significant truncation of deposits. Several small postmedieval features were encountered at the eastern end of the site, including a couple of shallow gullies (possibly associated with hedge planting), some possible planting pits, and a shallow well, perhaps associated with the cultivation of former gardens. A thicker development of soil was noted at the west end of the site (Trench 1) beneath the area now occupied by a tree-lined verge for a car park. The compacted surface of a north-south post-medieval chalk-metalled road or path was encountered at the north-west end of this trench, beneath which lay a couple of circular pits, including one lined with probable 17th-18th century brick. These may have been drains or soakaways connected with the construction of the road, or else could been part of some still earlier structures. A pronounced undulation in the natural surface of the gravels associated with a compacted and denuded palaeosoil was interpreted here as being the remains of a series of at least four eroded-out and subsequently silt-filled hollow ways. These parallel tracks appeared to be heading down towards the river in a north-east to south-west direction; further evidence for this feature being provided by a 1953 air photograph that shows a similarly aligned hollow in the field to the north. No artefacts or dating material was recovered from this feature, though a tentative Late Prehistoric to Medieval date is suggested.
