Proceedings of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society 94

Archaeological excavation was carried out at Fenstanton, Cambridgeshire, in advance of residential development and associated works to investigate parts of a cropmark complex. At least sporadic use of the area over several centuries was marked by small quantities of Middle Neolithic impressed ware (Peterborough ware) and Late Neolithic Grooved ware recovered from several small pits. This activity continued and perhaps increased towards the end of the third millennium BC with a pit complex and a single pit producing quantities of Beaker pottery and some flint, with the pottery comprising small numbers of sherds from numerous vessels perhaps as offerings of selected items. Two pits containing small amounts of unworked waterlogged wood have been radiocarbon dated to the Middle Bronze Age, the mid- to late-second millennium BC. By this time the development of permanent settlement within an organised landscape is marked by a parallel ditch system, in excess of 500m long, defining a linear track or droveway, perhaps linking summer grazing areas on the fens with winter grazing on the higher ground to the south. The only dating for this feature and an adjacent ring ditch are small quantities of undecorated pottery broadly dated to the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age, indicating that the landscape organisation remained much the same well into the first millennium BC. There was no evidence of Iron Age settlement nearby, but Roman ditch systems are probably part of an expansion of settlement onto the lower lying areas in the Roman period. A medieval structure of unknown function was also investigated. Includes

A significant assemblage of some 1,821 sherds (15,173g) of Iron Age pottery was recovered from the 1994--7 excavations at Wandlebury. The report on these excavations, in conjunction with which this report is intended to be read, includes a detailed reassessment of the pottery from the earlier 1955-6 excavations on the site (see Proc Cambridge Antiq Soc 93 (2004) pages 15--66). The bulk of the 1994--7 assemblage dates to the Early Iron Age, with smaller amounts of Late Bronze Age, Middle Iron Age and Late Iron Age material also occurring. The report considers the methods of recovery and condition of the material; the fabrics; forms, surface treatment and decoration; spatial patterning; and local affinities.

Excavations at Church End road, Cherry Hinton, have revealed that the settlement originates in the Middle Saxon period and that during the Saxo-Norman period it was the site of a large manorial centre, which acted primarily as an agricultural centre supplying the nearby town of Cambridge for the profit of an absentee landlord, as well as fulfilling a religious role. The settlement took the form of a large `D' shaped enclosure covering just over six hectares; much of this area was sparsely occupied with evidence of droveways, timber buildings, quarry pits and wells. Other investigations have revealed a chapel with a substantial associated cemetery and fragments of stone sculpture. This manorial centre was abandoned in the medieval period, although some occupation continued on the periphery of the village for a time.

Excavations at Market Square, St Neots in advance of development revealed that the earliest feature was a large pit containing burnt daub, infilled before the cemetery developed. A total of thirty-eight graves of probable Late Saxon to medieval date were examined, with a burial population of forty-four individuals (twenty-one males, six possible males, one female, one possible female, three children, twelve indeterminate). Of particular note was a male burial with a partially fused spine accompanied by a possible surgical support or remnants of a bier. Another grave contained a priest, buried with a base-metal chalice. There is slight evidence to suggest division of the cemetery according to status or chronology. Includes

The paper recounts the history of the hamlet and farmstead of Chrishall Grange, Fowlmere. Although superficially part of a post-enclosure landscape, closer examination reveals it to have been in existence in Anglo-Saxon times. The method chosen to present the research is that of retrospective analysis.

Study describing the enclosure of the Cambridge parish of St Giles (the West Fields) by Parliamentary Act and the roles played by the University and colleges in influencing the process. In acreage terms the distribution of land broadly reflects the pattern of ownership before enclosure, but the colleges and University obtained allocations convenient for themselves, especially on land adjacent to the present Backs. This allowed them to expand their gardens and walks, protect their views and laid the ground for the physical development of the University and colleges to the present day.

Numerous short, separately authored summaries of fieldwork carried out in Cambridgeshire during 2004, arranged alphabetically by town or parish; entries include grid references.