Council for British Archaeology Group 9 Newsletter 2

Six principal sites are being investigated at Caddington in Bedfordshire by a research excavation which aims to locate and examine remnants of undisturbed Lower Palaeolithic 'floors' observed by Worthington G Smith from 1889 onwards. No floors were found during the 1971 season, and only a few Palaeolithic artefacts were recovered. However, at the extreme end of the season a layer rich in Pleistocene mammal bones was found, potentially including elephant and deer species. The work is the first part of a large research project on the British Acheulian for the National Science Foundation of America. LD

Short account of a rescue excavation across the linear dyke known as Dray's Ditches at Luton, Bedfordshire, prior to the construction of housing and a new bypass. Excavations in 1959 had suggested the earthworks were part of a series of Iron Age territorial boundaries. In 1971 fourteen sections were cut across the dykes, and a large area was stripped at the point where the Icknield Way was believed to have crossed. The work confirmed the presence of three V-shaped ditches, between two of which had been a massive stockade of wooden posts. Pottery from the ditches was sparse, but one sherd suggested an early Iron Age date. At the point where the Icknield Way was thought to have crossed, the ditches were found to have been continuous when constructed. However, by Roman times the ditches had silted up and the road did cross at the expected point, metal cart tyres having cut a hollow way some three feet into the chalk at this point. LD

Excavations have been in progress at Brixworth Roman villa, Northamptonshire, since 1965, with two main aims: to ascertain whether 'Roman bricks' incorporated into a nearby Saxon church had come from the site, and as part of a research programme on the Roman coarse pottery of the upper Nene valley. This short article gives a brief summary of the chronological phases observed during the excavations, from the prehistoric period to about the 6th century AD; this is derived from the introduction to a recently published report on the Roman pottery from the site. LD

This item gives a brief summary of findings from recent excavations at a Roman villa site at Thenford, Northamptonshire, known since the early 18th century but not previously the subject of formal investigations. The aim of the excavation was to determine the nature of a building containing a hypocaust and mosaic, unearthed by a local enthusiast earlier in the year. Five possible phases of occupation are outlined in the article, although no conclusions regarding the room in question are presented. It is hoped that work will continue next year. LD

Summary report on results from a sixth season of excavation at the deserted medieval village and industrial site of Lyveden, Northamptonshire. Findings included a double-flue horseshoe-shaped pottery kiln, the pottery from which has been tentatively placed in the late 13th century between the products of two kilns found earlier, and a second iron-smelting furnace. Two occupation layers, a large stone cistern and an additional industrial structure of uncertain function were also investigated. LD

This Newsletter contains accounts of archaeological excavation and fieldwork carried out principally ahead of development. Pressures from urban redevelopment, motorway and other road-building schemes, sand and gravel working and deep ploughing are stretching the limited archaeological resources of the region to the full. In light of this, the editorial to the Newsletter advocates a reorganisation of regional archaeology, together with appropriate consideration of archaeology within the planning system. The accounts included in this edition are separately authored and are arranged in sections by period (Prehistoric; Romano-British; Anglo-Saxon and Medieval; Post-Medieval). These are followed by a section on 'Surveys and Urban Archaeology'. The more substantial contributions include: