Proceedings of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society 86

Noted as part of a larger programme of excavation which will attempt to determine the economy and function of the area and contribute to wider studies on the settlement of river valley environments. Flints and pottery from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages respectively were uncovered but the main focus was the rectangular shaped barrow or enclosure surrounded by a ditch. There is no evidence for inhumation and the presence of an entrance causeway could indicate a more domestic function for the structure but it has been interpreted as a square barrow of Arras type. There are separate sections on: `Flint' by Lynne Bevan (9); and `Pottery' by Ann Woodward (9).

Digging for the creation of nursery gardens in the 1920's exposed several graves containing four skeletons, one male with a spear and shield-boss over his head and three coloured glass beads. Villagers also noted lots of bone on the surface of the field. In 1993, excavations for the construction of a playground exposed more human bones and a sixth-century brooch. Two ditches of early prehistoric date and flints from the Mesolithic and Neolithic were noted beneath one of the graves. There were twenty-five graves in total containing twenty-six individuals, as two were in a shared grave. Other bone evidence suggests that the cemetery may have contained more than thirty-five individuals, many of which were children under the age of twelve. It is noteworthy that there is a high prevalence of cruciform and small long brooches in the female graves as in the cemetery at Girton College. This type of brooch is particularly characteristic of the costume of Anglian women. It is thought that the cemetery dates somewhere between 500--70 AD which is somewhat supported by the find of a square headed brooch produced locally around this time. All artefacts are typical of a sixth-century Anglian cemetery although the individuals from this site do share particular hereditary peculiarities. There is an appendix on `skeletal remains -- methods and glossary' (89).

Evidence appears to show a prehistoric field system incorporated into a later medieval open field system.

Brings to light a document preserved as a single sheet of parchment bound as the fly-leaf of a register of the temporal possessions of the bishops of Rochester, which records the foundation and the endowment of Linton Priory by Alan Rufus and his immediate successors, his brothers Alan Niger and Stephen. The foundation charter is thought to have been made between 1079 and 1087. There is an appendix on `Documents concerning the foundation of Linton Priory'.

Reports on excavations and field-work for sites of all periods.