Library
Publishing is a core part of the CAU's work so results from our excavations can be read and used by archaeologists, students, planners and the general public.
For over 30 years the CAU has published twenty monographs along with over 150 articles in academic journals. Many are available to download for free.
All of our site reports produced before October 2022 are available to download for free. Search for them by text or using the map. All our reports and our growing collection of digital archives are permanently accessible at the University of Cambridge's digital repository, Apollo.
Browse the results below
244
The South Gorleston Development Area: A Desktop Assessment
White, L. (1998). The South Gorleston Development Area: A Desktop Assessment. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 244
This archaeological desk-top study was carried out by Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU), on behalf of Great Yarmouth Borough Council, in advance of the development of the South Gorleston Development Area (SGDA), Norfolk. The aim of this report is to assess the potential impact of future development on the known archaeology, as well as to evaluate the possible extent and nature of the archaeological resource within the application area. The Borough Council propose to develop the site for multi-use purposes: both for residential and business use as well as recreational. New roads will be built, and services will need to be extended into the area. These would affect any underlying archaeology present within the area.
245
An Archaeological Evaluation at 31 Church Street, Saffron Walden, Essex
Dickens, A. (1998). An Archaeological Evaluation at 31 Church Street, Saffron Walden, Essex. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 245
An archaeological evaluation was carried out ahead of redevelopment work on the site of 31 Church Street, Saffron Walden (Site Centre TL5837 3860) on behalf of Ashtenne Ltd. in response to a brief issued by Essex County Council (Havis 1997). Two trenches were machine excavated along the eastern edge of the site. One of the principal reasons for the investigation was to determine whether the inner bailey ditch of the nearby castle ran across the north of the site. No trace of this feature or anything that might relate to it were found. All the dateable material recovered was eighteenth century suggesting a fairly limited timespan for the observable archaeological record of the site. Many of the deposits, however, contained quantities of broken, probably fifteenth century, rooftiles within them suggesting that earlier structures had existed nearby and subsequently been demolished. No structural traces of any earlier buildings were observed. The investigations revealed evidence of two major activities on the site which are eighteenth century in date and may be contemporary. The lower part showed signs of at least two episodes of extensive truncation of the underlying chalk. H a d there been any earlier evidence this has certainly removed it. The second episode created a reverse step, against the slope as opposed to terracing, which had been infilled with a clean soil perhaps to create a garden. On the upper part of the site part of a large pit was revealed, presumably related to chalk extraction. This appeared to have been used subsequently, perhaps to burn chalk to produce lime as utilised in building or alternatively in the fulling process. There was evidence of two phases of this later process. No evidence was found of any kiln or other structure related to the process.
246
12 West Street, Isleham, Cambridgeshire: An Archaeological Evaluation
Knight, M. (1998). 12 West Street, Isleham, Cambridgeshire: An Archaeological Evaluation. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 246
An archaeological evaluation was carried out at 12 West Street, Isleham, and consisted of six trenches and ten test pit stations located within a total area off 0.75 ha. A series of linear features were identified and found to contain 13th and 14th century pottery. The earliest of these was a wide boundary ditch which ran north-south across the site and on an alignment remarkably similar to the medieval earthwork features associated with the scheduled Benedictine Priory 70m to the east. As well as its orientation, its infill date of the middle 13th century, coinciding with the recorded abandonment of the priory for Linton and its subsequent conversion to a manor, suggests the ditch represents the westernmost boundary of the original priory precinct. Other boundaries were recorded including a ditch demarcating land plots off West Street. This divided an area occupied by the robbed foundation trenches of a building to the east, and a garden wall and associated horticultural features to the west. Towards the fen edge, the northernmost end of the site, deposits of up to 1m in depth were found consisting of a probable prehistoric buried soil horizon overlain by medieval and modern ploughsoils. Features were also seen in the majority of the test stations, although their primary objective of sampling background artefact densities was diminished by an absence of early deposits other than cut features caused by truncation across much of the site. An earlier version of the current north and eastern boundary walls of the site was recognised in the form of a robber trench which contained materials belonging to the late 19th century.
247
Excavations at the Cherry Hinton Ring Ditches, Fulbourn Road, Cambridge.
White, L. (1998). Excavations at the Cherry Hinton Ring Ditches, Fulbourn Road, Cambridge. . Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 247
An archaeological excavation was commissioned by Churchmanor Estates Company p.l.c. on land south of Fulbourn Road, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge, prior to the site being developed as a research park. The programme of excavation was based on the results of the archaeological assessment carried out by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) in 1994. The excavation was completed between 2 June and 4 July 1997 by a team of professional archaeologists, directed by the author. The excavation area was centred over three ring-ditches, Monuments I-III, known from aerial photographic evidence and located during the evaluation phase in 1994. The primary activity was the construction, probably during the Middle Bronze Age, of the ring-ditches. If they were not constructed contiguously, then they were built fairly rapidly one after the other given that each retains its own "space".
248
Greenhouse Farm, Fen Ditton: Watching Brief monitoring at the site of new office accommodation within the Marshalls Complex.
Higbee, L. (1998). Greenhouse Farm, Fen Ditton: Watching Brief monitoring at the site of new office accommodation within the Marshalls Complex. . Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 248
Due to its proximity to a recently discovered Iron Age complex in the field to the northeast , a watching brief was conducted between 27-30/1/98 on the excavation of foundation loading pad sites for office accommodation. The excavation of 37 foundation pits were observed, as well as pipe trenches on the east and western sides of the building footprint and a deep cutting for a lift shaft. The deposits observed in section were very similar across the development area and no archaeological features were apparent.
249
The Archaeology of the Papworth Everard Southwest Quadrant: A Desktop Assessment
Dickens, A. (1998). The Archaeology of the Papworth Everard Southwest Quadrant: A Desktop Assessment. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 249
The archaeological potential for the Southwest Quadrant can be considered as three chronological groups. (i) Prehistoric: Despite what might have been presumed about earlier prehistoric activity on the clay Janes' observations in the 1940s do suggest that an element of this early period has survived. It is unlikely, however, that settlement features would be found. Any evidence is more probably to be in the form of finds scatters. (ii) Iron Age/Romano British: The 1996 aerial photography survey shows a substantial complex of ditches and pits in the northern part of the Southwest Quadrant. Few of these recently discovered sites have yet been explored and none in this immediate vicinity. Given comparison to similar sites formerly protected below ridge and furrow, survival may well be good. (iii) Medieval: The northwestern part of the quadrant has a high likelihood of surviving remains spanning the period between, tentatively, the late Saxon/ early medieval and the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The "mill" mound, road and house sites should all be recoverable to one degree or another.
250
An Archaeological Desk-top Assessment of the South Bank Development, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
White, L. (1998). An Archaeological Desk-top Assessment of the South Bank Development, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 250
The following report is an archaeological desk-top assessment of the land known as the South Bank Development area, Peterborough. The site covers 18ha. of riverside property to the west of London Road. There are no known archaeological sites within the development, but the archaeological potential of the development area is very high given the variety and quantity of archaeological sites which are known to exist in the immediate environs. Past excavations on the north bank of the Nene suggest that the riverine deposits are good preservation agents of organic materials , and such finds could well be expected in the development area should the site be excavated. In the past the site was open arable fields until the mid-late 19th century when the railway between Peterborough and Ely was built. The site quickly became integral to the railway network in the city with both East Station and the Great Eastern Railway goods and engine sheds sited there. The exception to this was the 'allotments site' on the west side of the London Road which has seen no development and has remained as agricultural land. The proposed development will affect the entire site and comprise extensive ground works which will likely impact upon any possible below-ground archaeology which may exist within the South Bank Development.
251
The the South Gorleston Development Area: Field Walking, metal Detecting and Geophysical Survey
Gibson, D. (1998). The the South Gorleston Development Area: Field Walking, metal Detecting and Geophysical Survey. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 251
Great Yarmouth Borough Council commissioned from the Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) an archaeological survey, in advance of the development of the South Gorleston Development Area (SGDA), Norfolk. The Borough Council propose to develop the site for multi-use purposes: residential, business and recreational. New roads will be built, and services will need to be extended into the area. These would affect any underlying archaeology present within the area. The worked and burnt flint found during fieldwalking, coupled with the evidence from the Desktop Assessment, indicate that the most significant archaeology recorded within the development area through non-intrusive techniques is Bronze-Age activity. This takes the form both of monuments evidenced by the two probable ring-ditches identified in air photo interpretation and 'domestic' activity indicated by the worked flint assemblage.
152
Architectural Recording at the Old Schools, University of Cambridge
Evans, C. and Pollard, J. (1995). Architectural Recording at the Old Schools, University of Cambridge. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 152
The Old Schools constitute in part the earliest of the purpose-built non- Collegiate buildings of the University of Cambridge. Situated between King's Parade and Trinity Lane (TL 4474 5846), they presently comprise an arrangement around two courtyards, the eastern 'Cobble Court' and western 'Old Court', fronted to the east by Senate House Yard and Gibbs' neo-Classical Senate House. Typical of all College and University buildings, they encapsulate a long history of piecemeal development - addition, demolition and alteration - producing considerable stylistic diversity. Such is reflective of both developing needs (principally for built space), changing architectural tastes, and the eventual outward display of the University. Between July and September 1995 the Cambridge Archaeological Unit recorded sections of masonry exposed during renovation work inside the North Range of the Old Schools. The building work was to involve only minimal disturbance to the original fabric of the structure, but included the insertion of a new lift shaft for a dumb-waiter in the north wall of the western room, where a blocked 14th century window arch was known to exist, and the removal of post-Medieval in-fill from a fine perpendicular arch in the south wall at the eastern end of the range. Modern (1930s) internal partitions were also demolished in the central room, exposing internal sections of the original Divinity School walls. Written descriptions were made of the exposed Medieval and early post- Medieval stonework (fig. 3). Where sections were considered of sufficient importance, the written record was augmented by elevations drawn at a scale of 1:10; all exposed stonework was photographed. For the sake of clarity in presentation, the building is divided into three areas: the West Room (to be divided into a meeting room and store), Central Room (the new Research Grant Office), and East Room (including the south corridor). Much graffiti was recorded upon the fabric, including two important figurative images. The latter are fully described in a section following the main Discussion.
153
An Archaeological Assessment at the Bateman Building, Gonville and Caius
Alexander, M. (1995). An Archaeological Assessment at the Bateman Building, Gonville and Caius. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 153
The archaeological assessment took place at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge during the renovation of the Bateman Building. The area of the building destined to house an underground air conditioning unit was investigated. Features containing Roman pottery suggest a small Roman settlement may have occupied land nearby. There is no evidence of early Saxon occupation but Saxo-Norman pottery was found in a variety of features, including pits to extract gravel, a ditch and a cess pit. Two surfaces of clunch/clay probably date to this period. Documentary evidence indicates the area was a garden before its acquisition by the college in 1353. There are no indications of activity between the 12th and 15th centuries however later gardening may have destroyed earlier signs of occupation. The foundations of the stable block built in 1795 survived within the assessment area.
154
An Archaeological Evaluation at Arbury Camp, Cambridge
Knight, M. (1995). An Archaeological Evaluation at Arbury Camp, Cambridge. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 154
Evaluation fieldwork at Arbury Camp was completed on the l3.1ll.95 ,after one week's fieldwork. The evaluation was designed to assess the survival, character and significance of deposits on the site for preservation and design purposes. The evaluation followed the aims set out in Arbury Project Design 1995 (CAU 1995) based on a specification agreed between the Cambridgeshire County Council Development Control Office Archaeological Section (CAO) and Countryside Planning and Manc1gernent (CPM). The work was undertaken as part of a programme archaeological work, specified by CPM, ahead of proposed development of a retail store for J Sainsbury plc.
155
Archaeological Investigations at Babraham Hall Institute, Babraham, Cambridgeshire
Regan, R. (1995). Archaeological Investigations at Babraham Hall Institute, Babraham, Cambridgeshire. Cambridge Archaeological Unit report no. 155
A number of 'early' gravel extraction pits were excavated. Backfilled with domestic refuse of lst/2nd century AD date, their recovery could suggest Roman settlement within the vicinity. The discovery of silted-up river channels of Post-Medieval date confirm historical mentions of river shift; an associated 'hard' surface indicating that the Granta was 'worked', utilised as a means of transportation and supplying water for mills irrigation and pasture. Following the silting-up of the channels the area was subject to episodes of dumping and levelling. These most likely date to the 1860s when the estate underwent major landscaping before becoming a kitchen garden.
