Proceedings of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society 98

Excavations revealed prehistoric activity on a small gravel island within the fen. A buried soil horizon survived across most of the site, which produced pottery and large quantities of worked flint of later Neolithic/ Early Bronze Age date. Associated features included shallow pits and hollows and two large waterholes, one of which contained a timber-revetted platform securely dated to the Early Bronze Age. Environmental evidence from this feature shows that it was situated within an area of pasture. It is argued that the site was probably occupied discontinuously through the course of the Later Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. Patterning in the spatial distributions of different flint tool types across the site suggest discrete episodes of activity focused on differing tasks. The occupation horizon was subsequently buried by an alluvial soil layer, representing abandonment of the site under conditions of increased wetness and flooding, before the island was engulfed by the fen during the Later Bronze Age or Iron Age.

Discusses the connections of the goddess with the river, based on Roman votive material discovered at Ashwell in 2002. Evidence from place- and river-names is considered, and used to suggest that people in the area were speaking a variant of Welsh as late as c. AD 600. PP-B

Investigations revealed a hollow way dated to the Late Saxon or medieval period, and the foundations of two buildings of the same date. Post-medieval ditches and a modern posthole were also recorded.

Excavation at First Farm, Caxton (TL 3021 5788) found evidence for a possible Roman to late medieval track coupled with extensive water management and limited settlement activity that was at its height in the medieval period. Of particular interest was the discovery of a 'face' made from animal bone and lava quern, found associated with a late medieval timber building. The significance of this composite object is debatable but could include protection against witchcraft.

Dredging in the River Cam at Upware in September 1989 unearthed a quantity of stakes and planks. Seeks to explain their significance in the context of structures erected in the early nineteenth century to control the flow of water in the river below Clayhithe.

Suggests that the work's argument that the common fields in the north of the region are a result of Viking invasion or English re-conquest in the later first millenium AD is unconvincing. Also suggests that the number of land-types identified in the study is based on an overly small amount of evidence, and that the extensive use of the Historic Landscape Characterisation Scheme is not sufficiently discussed. PP-B