Cambridge dig looking for Anglo-Saxon skeletons finds Roman settlement

[Melvadius]

Heritage Key carries a report on recent work in Cambridge's Newnham college which ahs uncovered evidence for a Roman settlement rather than more of the Anglo-Saxon burials (originally found during and then reburied shortly after WW2) they had been looking for.

 

This only goes to show that even when one of our best known archeologists is involved (Dr Carenza Lewis is also involved in the excavations) do not always find what they are looking for. This potentially exciting find is probably a double-edged sword with a fair degree of frustration at not finding their original 'target'

 

A dig in search of Anglo-Saxon skeletons has instead unearthed signs of a sprawling Roman settlement. The discovery was made last week, on the grounds of Cambridge's Newnham College.

 

Evidence of a 16th or 17th century farmhouse that could date back to the reign of Henry VIII was unearthed at the site as well.

 

"We knew there was a Roman settlement here before but we had no idea of the size," said Dr Catherine Hills.

 

"The village has been buried under the gardens for nearly 2,000 years, and may have seen the Roman conquest of Britain and Boudicca's revolt. The 16th-century farmhouse was a complete surprise."

 

The site first became of interest in the late 1930s when excavations for World War II air raid shelters lead to the discovery of five skeletons. Back then, archaeologist Dorothy Garrod and a team of women from the college excavated the graves using dessert spoons and toothbrushes.

 

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