1101324. Cite this using datacite

Title:

Land East of Luton Airport, Luton, Bedfordshire

Series:

Cotswold Archaeology unpublished report series

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DOI

https://doi.org/10.5284/1101324

Publication Type:

Report (in Series)

Abstract:

The evaluation comprised the excavation of a total of 57 trenches. This work comprises phase one of a two-stage programme of trial trenching and the phase 2 works will be the subject of a separate WSI. The trench locations were chosen to target anomalies identified by a previous geophysical survey (SUMO 2018), as well as to test apparently blank areas in the survey and as a means of prospection for remains of a type or period that may not typically respond to geophysical survey. The trenches comprised 6 number 10m by 25m trenches; 2 number 10m by 10m trenches; 26 number 50m by 2m trenches and 23 number 25m by 2m trenches. Trenches were positioned to take account of known constraints, including services and ecological and environmentally sensitive areas. An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in March 2019 on land east of Luton Airport. Fifty-seven trenches were excavated across the approximately 37ha evaluation area, which comprises two arable fields, north and south respectively, situated on a series of dry valleys. In the north field, the earliest archaeological feature revealed comprised a single pit of Neolithic date. Evidence of Late Iron Age/ Early Roman and Romano-British activity was identified in the form of a number of ditches seemingly forming an enclosure encompassing the remains of a small building and a series of rubbish pits, all situated on a largely flat area adjacent to a dry valley bisecting the field. Outlying probable field boundary ditches were also noted to the north of the enclosure while activity did not seemingly extend to the south or east, where the gradient of the dry valley bisecting the north field becomes more pronounced and would have likely rendered the land unsuitable for anything other than pastoral uses. The building was only partially exposed but was approximately 4m wide and had been cut into the natural substrate to form a subterranean element. A surviving, in-situ pilae stack and an area of heavily heat affected clay indicate that the building had a use associated with hot gases, possibly a hypocaust system or industrial purpose, but the exact function was not confirmed, with the structure appearing to have been deliberately demolished and heavily robbed-out. The presence of painted wall plaster, box flue, imbrex and tegula suggest that the building was of some status, although it is possible that this material was also in part derived from other buildings nearby and used to infill the subterranean element of the structure following abandonment. Dating evidence suggest that activity began in the Late Iron Age/ Early Roman period and that the building was demolished and the enclosure ditches deliberately infilled in the 3rd to 4th century. No evidence for any later activity was identified. These remains are likely to be associated with Romano-British activity previously identified to the north and northwest of the Site, where archaeological monitoring in Wigmore Valley Park, located alongside the airport emergency access road which forms the northwest boundary to the Site, revealed evidence of Roman, as well as earlier, activity, with a subsequent resistivity survey producing evidence for a substantial structure. No features or deposits of archaeological or geoarchaeological interest were identified in the south field. A series of discrete anomalies identified by the geophysical survey and interpreted as a possible pit alignment were observed to comprise geological variations, consisting of siltier patches/ lenses within the clay with flints substrate. Other isolated possible features were investigated and all shown to be of natural origin.

Author:

A Moosbauer
Adrian Scruby

Publisher:

Cotswold Archaeology

Year of Publication:

2019

Locations:

County:	Bedfordshire
Parish:	Luton, unparished area
Country:	England
District:	Luton

Grid Reference: 513137, 221760 (Easting, Northing)

Subjects / Periods:

TEGULA (Object England)

ROMAN TEGULA (Tag)

EVALUATION (Event)

PIT (Monument Type England)

NEOLITHIC PIT (Tag)

DITCH (Monument Type England)

LATE IRON AGE DITCH (Tag)

DITCH (Monument Type England)

ROMAN DITCH (Tag)

RUBBISH PIT (Monument Type England)

LATE IRON AGE RUBBISH PIT (Tag)

RUBBISH PIT (Monument Type England)

ROMAN RUBBISH PIT (Tag)

BUILDING (Monument Type England)

ROMAN BUILDING (Tag)

HYPOCAUST TILE (Object England)

ROMAN HYPOCAUST TILE (Tag)

WALL PLASTER (Object England)

ROMAN WALL PLASTER (Tag)

FLUE TILE (Object England)

ROMAN FLUE TILE (Tag)

IMBREX (Object England)

ROMAN IMBREX (Tag)

LATE IRON AGE (Historic England Periods)

ROMAN (Historic England Periods)

NEOLITHIC (Historic England Periods)

Identifiers:

OASIS Id:

cotswold2-509270

Source:

OASIS (OASIS)

Relations:

Created Date:

09 Jan 2023