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The Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) were commissioned by RPS on behalf of BDW Cambridgeshire to undertake an open area archaeological excavation of land South and West of 300 Eastrea Road, Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, ahead of a proposed development. Three areas were excavated. Area 1 focussed on an early bronze Age barrow, which contained a Collared urn and one burial. Beaker pits were located to the south of the barrow. There were also traces of a Bronze Age/Iron Age field system comprising shallow ditches. In the northeast of the area was a trackway marked by parallel ditches leading to a Roman settlement to the west at Burdett's Nursery. Within the trackway was a multi-phase cemetery, containing 5 cremations and 23 inhumations. There were several different burial practices evident within the cemetery, with both adults and children represented, decapitations, 'stacked' burials, coffin burials and one individual that had a stone inserted into its mouth. These had varied orientations and positions, including prone, supine, extended and flexed burials. Area 2 lay on the fringe an Iron Age settlement in the field to the east. A trackway marked by parallel ditches, and an Iron Age ditch were uncovered.

Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) undertook an open-area archaeological excavation at Sheen Farm, Litlington, Cambridgeshire, to 'preserve by record' archaeological remains identified during previous works carried out by Oxford Archaeology (Booth 2019). The excavation was carried out in two phases between 6th September 2021 and 2nd November 2021 ahead of development. The site code is SFL21 and the event number is ECB6769. The investigations revealed a Roman farmstead comprising ditched enclosure and trackway, beam slots, a well and two kilns; supplemented by artefacts relating predominantly to the Roman period and providing the largest assemblage of archaeological material from the village of Litlington to date. The development area (DA) is located within a landscape of known Roman occupation, with a substantial Roman villa c.300m to the northwest and a Roman cemetery known as 'Heaven's Walls' equidistant to the south. Excavations at Sheen Farm have identified evidence of a satellite farmstead located within this settlement complex, a subsidiary of the villa estate. The finds comprised significant quantities of ceramic building material (523 pieces, 77kg - including tegula, imbrex and box flue tile), animal bone and pottery of first to fourth century AD date (1544 pieces, 18kg) including Nene Valley and Hadham wares, similar to material recovered from the villa site; indicating a farmstead of some status. Ranging between the first to fourth centuries AD, the floruit of activity was between the third and fourth centuries with three phases of activity: (1) initial establishment, (2) expansion and development of the farmstead, and (3) final enclosure and re-establishment. The overarching aim of this project is to investigate the character and phasing of the site's Romano-British activity within the context of the surrounding excavations, thereby enhancing our understanding of Romano-British settlement at Litlington and the site's relationship to the villa.

Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) undertook a trenched evaluation on land located at 205-207 Cambridge Street, St Neots in order to assess the archaeological potential of the site prior to its proposed redevelopment into a care home facility. The evaluation was carried out between the 25th to the 29th April 2022. The trenching yielded no pre-19th century archaeological remains, although evidence for buildings which previously occupied the site, together with a brick-lined well and 'dark-earth' deposit likely dating to the 19th/early 20th century were recorded.

This report represents the first fruit of the collaboration between the EMOWAA Trust (formerly the Legacy Restoration Trust), the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments and the British Museum, announced in late 2020 under the title of 'Rediscovering the History of Benin'. This represents a unique and innovative approach to the archaeology and heritage of the region, with a focus on supporting and enabling Nigerian archaeologists to use the tools of modern science to explore the exceptional and important history of Benin City. The EMOWAA vision—inspired and endorsed by the Edo State Government—involves the development of a Cultural Quarter in the ancient and modern centre of the city. The EMOWAA Archaeology Project supports this broader aim, exploring the sites of the museum and other elements of this vision ahead of construction. The first step in this process involves the construction of 'The EMOWAA Pavilion': a research, archive and storage facility, designed by Adjaye Associates, in the southern part of the Cultural Quarter, on the site of the former Benin Central Hospital. The Pavilion will act as a home for EMOWAA and a base from which the wider development will be taken forward. The investigations described in this report were undertaken in early 2022 to characterise buried archaeological remains on the Pavilion site, informing the need for and nature of mitigation excavations ahead of construction, scheduled to commence in the second half of 2022. Investigations were also undertaken within the grounds of the Benin City Museum. The work was undertaken by an integrated team of Nigerian archaeologists, recruited directly by EMOWAA, NCMM archaeologists and UK professionals (from Cambridge Archaeological Unit and Wessex Archaeology) provided through the British Museum. It was the first significant archaeological work undertaken in Benin City in over 50 years.

Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) undertook a trenched evaluation of land North of Mepal AD Plant, Ireton's Way, Mepal, Cambridgeshire to assess the archaeological potential of the site prior to the proposed extension of the Biodigester plant (TL 4175 8350). Work was carried out between 21st March and 4th April 2022. The evaluation identified five undated archaeological features: one pit-well, two ditches and two possible pits, and a number of post-medieval 'claying/marling' trenches, along with geological and natural features. A small assemblage of finds was recovered including pottery, ceramic building material and metalwork, all post-medieval in date, as well as a relatively small assemblage of animal bone from a single archaeological feature. With the exception of the 'claying/marling' trenches, archaeological activity was sparse, confined to the northeastern third of the field, and was disturbed and truncated by post-medieval ploughing. Overall, the archaeological potential of the Proposed Development Area (PDA) was considered to be low.

The Cambridge Archaeological Unit undertook archaeological monitoring at Madingley Hall, Madingley (TL 3948 6034), between 12th and 17th January 2022. The Church of St Magdalene was undertaking drainage works, a segment of which crossed University of Cambridge land at Madingley Hall Institute of Continuing Education. Only this segment was the object of the archaeological monitoring. The investigations revealed a rather homogeneous sequence: turf and topsoil overlaying a levelling layer associated with the 18th century landscaping of the grounds by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown. This was similar to observations within the churchyard during archaeological monitoring in 2018 and 2019. The shallowness of the trench prevented the recording of the sequence prior to that event.

Set within a minor valley of the Little Ouse catchment, evidence from the evaluation demonstrates the valley bottom was formerly a much wetter environment, covered by blanket peat with palaeochannels and peat filled periglacial hollows. On the dryland margins, a modest flint assemblage and possible traces of ploughed out burnt mounds attest to low-level Neolithic and Bronze Age use. Ditches have been circumstantially assigned a medieval date, believed to form a component of the more substantial complex along the western fringes of Eriswell village (Stephens and Gater 2019). Elements of a 19th–20th century fieldsystem were also exposed within the trenches.

The Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) undertook a trenched archaeological evaluation on land at Dexter's Farm, Bearscroft Lane, Godmanchester (NGR 525455 269355) to assess the archaeological potential and nature of the Proposed Development Area (PDA) ahead of a plan for residential housing. The Evaluation was carried out between the 29th November and 3rd December. The results identified post medieval and modern activity, comprising five small ditches, which formed a series of field-enclosures. The evaluation indicates at least a dissipation of archaeological activity from previous excavations directly to the north (ECB4471).

Between 12th and 17th November 2021, an archaeological trench evaluation was undertaken at Ham Hill, Somerset, by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) in response to a proposal by The Ham & Doulting Stone Company to extend quarry works by 2.23ha southward from its existing operations. Occupied since at least the early Neolithic, the site is one of Britain's largest prehistoric hillforts, totalling 88.1ha and a Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM 1003678). Subject to quarrying since its Roman occupation, the hill is the primary source of Ham Stone which, since at least the Medieval period, has been the preferred building stone both locally and regionally for ecclesiastical foundations, stately homes and other important structures. Their continued conservation relies on this scarce resource. Fourteen trenches were opened but no archaeological features were found during the investigation, which encountered only quarrying waste and, in three trenches, unquarried bedrock that represents the depth limit of historical quarry works. The trenching demonstrated significant quarrying impact to depths likely to have truncated and probably removed archaeological horizons. The quarry waste contained cultural materials that indicate the landscape's former prehistoric and Roman occupation, as well as documenting historical aspects of its quarrying operations into the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Between 15th and 18th November 2021, an archaeological trench evaluation was conducted by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) at Ham Hill, Norton-sub-Hamdon, Somerset; a prehistoric hillfort and a Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM 1003678). Four trenches were opened in two areas south of the Limekiln car park, centred ST 480 163. The hilltop was known to have been subject to quarrying since the Roman period with operations considerably expanded during the later nineteenth century. Quarrying activity was revealed throughout the trenches with Trench 1 containing only quarry waste filling a quarried void, with further evidence of quarrying recorded in Trenches 2-4. The foundation of a stone wall was encountered in Trench 2, which corresponds with a structure shown on the 1886 Ordnance Survey map. This was part of a complex of buildings belonging to quarry workings, which were no longer present in the map's 1906 edition. Iron files and zinc sheet templates were recovered from deposits associated with the building and its demolition, as well as window glass and ceramic roof tiles. A maker's stamp on one tile fragment may be securely dated to after 1867. Probably a masonry workshop, the 'floor' within the interior of the building showed no evidence for having previously been subject to quarrying, though it may have been truncated. Nevertheless, no pre-nineteenth century features were identified.

Excavations were carried out in two areas (the Plant Site and Phase 1 extraction area) at Mitchell Hill Quarry, Cottenham, Cambridgeshire by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit, between August 2019 and January 2020, ahead of gravel extraction. A total of 10.24ha was stripped revealing features dating from the Beaker period through to the Post-Medieval period, but dominated by the remains of an Iron Age Settlement. The Plant Site area revealed scattered prehistoric features, including Middle Bronze Age and Early Iron Age watering holes with waterlogged wood deposits, comparable to those recorded at the adjacent Gravel Digger's Quarry site (Bourne 2019). Evidence of Roman activity comprised a series of large curvilinear boundary ditches and trackway related to a known settlement at Mitchell Hill Farm. Although some early pits dating to the Beaker and Middle Bronze Age periods were recorded within the Phase 1 extraction area, the main focus of activity there related to a dense multi phased Iron Age settlement. The earliest phase was characterised by a series of post-built roundhouses and potentially contemporary four-post structures and pits, the subsequent Early Middle Iron Age phases saw the establishment of a major roundhouse, defined by multiple phases of gully and several enclosures. In addition to associated settlement features, which included a considerable number of pits and postholes, four inhumations were likely contemporaneous to the site's Early and Early-Middle Iron Age occupation. Later Iron Age activity was more limited and mainly comprised pit groupings and ditches. Evidence of Roman activity appears likely to be related to the settlement at Mitchell Hill Farm and was limited to field boundary ditches and a trackway in the Phase 1 area.

From August 17th to October 27th, 2020, an archaeological excavation was undertaken at Bearscroft Farm, Godmanchester (centred on 525399 270248) ahead of further development of the site. The work was commissioned by RPS on behalf of David Wilson Homes (South Midlands) in response to a request from the Cambridgeshire Historic Environment Team (CHET) and planning condition (ref: 12/00685/OUT) that was continued from the previous excavation (BCG14, Patten 2016). Four areas totalling 1.02ha were targeted, and were located in the vicinity of the Areas 1 and 2a from the previous excavations. These areas were relabelled B1 and B2 respectively. The excavation area B1 included pitting from the Late Neolithic to Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age in date. Remnants of Roman fields, along with two associated cremations, were also recorded. Activity continued from the 5th century AD onwards, predominantly in the 6th to 7th centuries AD, but also spanning into the Middle to Late Anglo-Saxon period. This was a north-west expansion of the settlement identified during the Cardinal Distribution Park (Gibson 2003) excavations, forming enclosures, a trackway, field system, pitting, as well as post-holes and a single sunken featured building (SFB). The excavation of Area B2 included early prehistoric pitting and 'natural' hollows, as well as the possible remains of ephemeral structures in the form of post-holes. There was also a continuation of the Middle to Late Iron Age activity excavated in Area 2a, taking on the form of an enclosure, probably joining on to the long, territorial 'linear boundary' reported on in BCG14 (Patten 2016). The only Roman activity was the partial remains of an open enclosure, perhaps linking into a more extensive field system arrangement. All of the excavated areas exposed a regular series of furrows aligned northwest-southeast that formed a part of the medieval and post-medieval field system connected with Bass Croft Field and East Garden fields.