Proceedings of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society 87

The article looks at the geology of Cambridgeshire during the Pleistocene, and at the archaeological discoveries relating to the Palaeolithic.

known archaeology within the vicinity of the site from the Cambridgeshire SMR

Trial excavations on the outskirts of the medieval village of Colne identified the disturbed remains of pottery kilns that had functioned between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries. Kiln debris, wasters and dense quantities of sherds were recovered. Trenching identified the eastern edge of the kiln area, but to the west it extended into gardens. No traces of medieval building were noted, though pottery of Saxo-Norman and early medieval date indicated earlier settlement. Within the area examined the site was well preserved, the pottery dump surviving as a low mound beneath shallow topsoil. At least one more kiln and pottery dump is known to have existed near to the site.

Excavations at Emmanuel College indicated the presence of a previously unknown building, part of the Dominican Priory complex. The building, probably fourteenth-century in date, was decorated with embossed floor tiles from the Barnsey kiln near Kings Lynn, and with painted glass windows. The role suggested is that of a guest house, perhaps associated with the only Parliament ever to sit at Cambridge, held at the priory in 1388. Includes

Detailed plan of the seventeenth-century Civil War fort at Earith, surveyed by the author during the 1960s, along with a description of its most notable features and a discussion of its historical context.

Overview and discussion of excavations, evaluations, watching briefs, and surveys in Cambridgeshire, including their relation to the national overview and their implications for future work. The article is based on data drawn from English Heritage's National Monuments Record Excavation Index.

Numerous brief, separately authored notes on fieldwork in Cambridgeshire during the year, arranged alphabetically by town or parish, with a separate section on investigations contributing to understanding of the landscape but yielding little archaeological information.