New Grange Broom Bedfordshire - excavations 2007-2012: Cambridge Archaeological Unit Digital Archive

The Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) conducted a trial trench evaluation over the entire proposed quarry area in 2003, following geophysics and a transcription of aerial photographs. This revealed an early bronze Age ring ditch, large area of Middle Iron Age settlement and field systems, three Roman-era settlements and Anglo-Saxon activity. The areas containing the Roman and Anglo-Saxon activity were excluded from the extraction area, and the archaeological investigations focused on prehistoric archaeology. Excavation was undertaken in 2007, 2011 and 2012. They uncovered a substantial Middle Iron Age settlement, with several phases of enclosures apparent along with many hundreds of pits – including several hundred grain storage pits. The settlement is one of the largest of its kind, and was occupied for around 200 years from c.400 BC to c.200 BC.Lafarge Tarmac Lt