Title: |
Archaeological Test Pit Excavations in Thorney, Cambridgeshire, 2006, 2007 and 2010 |
Series: |
Access Cambridge Archaeology unpublished report series
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Downloads: |
accessca1-310251_1.pdf (8 MB)
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Licence Type: |
ADS Terms of Use and Access
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DOI |
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Publication Type: |
Report (in Series)
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Abstract: |
Two-day test pit excavations were undertaken in the small village of Thorney, just outside Peterborough in north Cambridgeshire between 2006 and 2010. In that time a total of 34 1m square archaeological test pits were excavated by 121 local secondary school children as of the Higher Education Field Academy (HEFA) programme run by ACA. The excavations were coordinated with members of the Thorney Society. The test pitting in Thorney revealed a range of activity dating from the later prehistoric period through to the modern day. It also showed that earlier phases of occupation in Thorney are still present under the modern village. The small gravel island of Thorney within the fens has recorded activity on and around it mostly dating from the Bronze Age with a number of later prehistoric and Roman field systems and settlements already identified. The test pitting did not reveal any evidence for the first monastic cell on the island from the 7th century AD nor the Viking raids that followed but from when the cell was rebuilt as an abbey during the later Anglo Saxon period and when the abbey was recorded as being a large landowner in the Domesday Book. It was also during the medieval period that it was considered to be one of the 'Fen Five' large abbeys (also consisting of Ely Cathedral, Crowland Abbey, Ramsey Abbey and Peterborough Cathedral). Evidence for medieval activity was most prevalent during the later medieval period, its wealth and status likely contributing to its quick recovery after the Black Death. Little in the way of settlement shifts were noted through the distribution of the pottery found and supports the notion that the majority of the occupation around the abbey was restricted to the gravel island. A number of sherds of Dutch influenced pottery have also been recorded from the test pits that could relate to the high number of Dutch engineers involved with the substantial draining of the surrounding fen from the 17th century onwards. |
Author: |
C A Collinson
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Publisher: |
Access Cambridge Archaeology
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Other Person/Org: |
Historic England (OASIS Reviewer)
Peterborough City Council HER (OASIS Reviewer)
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Year of Publication: |
2018
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Locations: |
Site: |
Thorney |
County: |
Cambridgeshire |
District: |
Peterborough |
Parish: |
THORNEY |
Country: |
England |
Grid Reference: 528300, 304200 (Easting, Northing)
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Subjects / Periods: |
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Identifiers: |
OASIS Id: |
accessca1-310251 |
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Note: |
A4, printed double sided, 124 pages
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Source: |
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Created Date: |
05 Apr 2018 |