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Planning permission is sought for redevelopment of the former Charrington Oils Depot (22-24 Clarendon Road), which lies on the south side of Cambridge covering c. 4ha just east of the intersection of Hills Road and the Railway (NGR TL4590 5675). The Planning Authority has determined that the site lies in an area of high archaeological potential and that further information is required. Cambridge University Press have appointed the Cambridge Archaeological Unit to carry out a desktop assessment to collate and assess information relating to the site's archaeological potential.

No archaeological remains other than the very recent were encountered. Iron Age and Middle Saxon settlement areas are now known to the south of West Fen Rd and up the slope to the east on the north side of the road. The south side of West Fen Rd also contains dense later Saxon and Medieval settlement remains. These, however, do not continue to the north of the road where the Middle Saxon settlement appears not to follow the same development pattern - the area may have given over to agriculture at an early date. When seen in conjunction with the pipeline excavation to the north and west it is unlikely that any major archaeological remains would be encountered within the site area.

This report provides an assessment of potential of the stratigraphic, artefactual and environmental data from the archaeological excavations at land adjacent to Greenhouse Farm, Cambridge. The site is centred on TL 490 595. It lies directly north of Cambridge Airport in the parish of Fen Ditton. The excavation was undertaken on behalf of and completely funded by Marshall of Cambridge (Airport Properties) Ltd and took place between the 27t h August and 3r d October 1998.

Archaeological investigations at Eyebury Quarry, Cambridgeshire were carried out between the 23rd November 1998 and the 22nd February 1999, prior to further mineral extraction within the quarry. The work was undertaken by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit. The site, centred at TF 237021, covers an area of 9.41 ha. (approximately rectangular in shape, oriented on a north-south axis) in a field lying to the north-east of Tanholt Farm. The principle aim of this report is to provide an assessment of the stratigraphic, artefactual and environmental data from the archaeological excavations at Eye Quarry, Peterborough in terms of their potential for analysis. The various components of the site archive have been evaluated by the author of this report and qualified specialists. A general summary of the fieldwork results, integrated with the specialists findings is given in the main body of the report and followed by a statement of the potential and recommendation for analysis.

Five trial trenches were dug in an area of former allotments at Eastleigh Road, Peterborough, to test for the presence of archaeology before the proposed construction of a school and football pitch. An undated shallow pit containing charcoal fragments was found sealed beneath the allotment soils. No other archaeological evidence was recovered apart from a stray fragment of a Bronze age flint scraper, found in the topsoils.

This desk top study was commissioned by Bidwells on behalf of David S. Smith Packaging Ltd. as a preliminary stage in the development proposals for land at Reach and Swaffham Roads, Burwell. The site occupies a roughly triangular segment of land 4.96ha in area immediately to the west of the junction of the roads to Swaffham Prior (Burwell Road) and Reach (Reach Road). The area was the site of the former railway station on the Mildenhall Branch Line and was bisected NE to SW by the railway line (now dismantled). The site presently accommodates a redundant industrial complex with a small field of rough pasture at the western end. The proposed development is mixed land use and includes a village green at the eastern end of the site, residential use in the middle and business use at the western end. In view of the density of archaeological evidence within the area the County Archaeological Officer has advised that the applicant provide information concerning the potential impact of the proposed development on archaeological remains

A proposal has been made to redevelop land presently occupied by the Simoco Works at St Andrews Road, Chesterton. The site extends over 4.7ha on the south side of St Andrews Road bounded to the north by Church Street, to the east by Lynefield Lane, to the south by the River Cam and to the east by playing fields and the former Simoco Canteen site (site centre TL4645 5960). The Cambridge County Council Development Control Office (Archaeology) has determined that the area has a high archaeological potential and that further information is required to advise the planning process. To this end the Cambridge Archaeological Unit were appointed by Bidwells, on behalf of Simoco International, to carry out a desktop assessment in order to collate and consider information relating to this potential.

Evaluation trenching in an area to the south of Cambridge revealed evidence of 19th and 20th century terracing, ground levelling and gravel extraction, as well as considerable petrochemical contamination of large parts of the site. This is undoubtedly associated with the Charrington Oil Depot and its railway branch line and has considerably reduced the potential for archaeological survival across the area. In the area to the south of the former oil depot however, undisturbed features and deposits survive which are indicative of prehistoric or Romano-British field systems. These are discussed in relation to evidence of agricultural or horticultural practice identified recently at the nearby Brooklands Avenue, and in terms of the wider field systems in the southern hinterland of the Roman settlement at Cambridge.

The objective of this chapter is to examine the probability of archaeological remains occurring along the proposed Rapid Transit Scheme (RTS) route and to assess the likely impact of the RTS upon any such remains. The study sets the findings in the context of the relevant legislation, both national and local, and proposes a broad scheme of mitigation based on the findings.

The proposed development covers an area of c. 22.6 hectares on the west side of the city of Ely. It is bounded on the north by West Fen Road; on the west by the A10 bypass; on the east by the western suburb of Ely; and to the south by St Johns Road. The area dealt with in this report lies at the north of the development, along West Fen Road, c. 1 kilometre to the west of Ely Cathedral. The excavation covers approximately four hectares in two small fields, the western field (Cornwell) ex-arable, the higher, eastern field (Cotmist) ex-pasture with visible remains of ridge and furrow. The excavation took place in advance of the first stage of a housing development by The Ashwell Group Ltd. and were carried out by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit between April and July 1999.

Excavations at MSA A1/A507 were undertaken during January and February 2000. These uncovered, in areas A and B, evidence for marginal Late Bronze Age activity dating to around 800 BC in the form of postholes, pits and a segmented boundary ditch. These discoveries augmented work previously undertaken which had revealed a Late Bronze Age pit alignment (also representing a boundary) and other ephemeral settlement activity. These may represent an attempt by the local people to enforce a claim upon the land and to form stronger social bonds. Activity of this type is probably indicative of the land and population pressures thought to have become more intense during this period.

A desk based assessment was carried out for land occupied by the former Chesterton Hospital, Union Lane, Chesterton. Little information is available for early periods in the vicinity but there is good documentary, and recent archaeological evidence to suggest that Chesterton was a thriving settlement from at least Domesday onwards. The presumed early road line from Arbury Camp (the old King's Hedges Road/Union Lane) passes along the northern edge of the site as Union Lane. Excavations further east along the same road found remains dating to the earlier medieval period with residual material from the prehistoric and Roman periods. The Chesterton Union Workhouse was built on the site in1838, becoming Chesterton Hospital in 1930. Additions were made but the central building remained largely untouched until the start of demolition early in 2000.