Bedfordshire Archaeological Journal Volume 07 1972

A 76,000 acre tract of land between the rivers Nene and Ouse has been the subject of intensive fieldwork. There are 216 known pre-Medieval sites and 14 deserted villages, most of them new discoveries. The distribution suggests that the district has been substantially de-afforested since Bronze Age times. A detailed gazetteer gives a brief account of what is known about each site.

This paper describes the excavation of a Roman well in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. The finds suggested that it was dug during the second century A.D. and abandoned and refilled more than one hundred years later. It appears that the water table was much lower in Roman times than it is today. The finds included bucket hoops and lead weights, agricultural implements as well as adornments and pottery.

The publication of an isolated find of an Anglo-Saxon cremation urn with triangular panel style ornament from Moggerhanger allows a discussion of the style at Kempston. These vessels form a late sixth century link between the Cambridge region and the Upper Thames, where both styles are prolific. Other items showing the same links are briefly reviewed.

Techniques for surveying Medieval fields and the earthworks left by ancient field boundaries are described. It is possible to compile complete furlong maps for any settlement, which show that all the land except the flooding meadows was cultivated Supporting historical studies show that the field systems were completed by the early fourteenth century. It is demonstrated that fourteenth century village sizes are related to the area of good quality arable soil; from this relation it should be possible to calculate the size of any Medieval settlement so giving a new method of population assessment.

A Luton timber-framed house, now demolished and known to us only from a photograph, shows two types of framing technique. It apparently consists of a hall with a storeyed end (possibly an extension). A sixteenth century date is argued for, although it is possible that the hall part is of the fifteenth century. The building is important in view of the extreme paucity of medieval and sub-medieval remains in the town.

A brief report on Iron Age and Roman remains found during construction works in 1972 at the new John Bunyan School at Mile Road, Bedford

An illustrated report and discussion relating to an Anglo-Saxon grave cover found in the east wall of the south chapel of the Church of St Mary, Cardington

A brief study of two medieval cooking pots in Bedford Museum

Brief round-up of current/recent excavations

All the plates for Volume 7 of the journal