An Archaeological Evaluation at Grange Farm, Duxford, Cambridgeshire

An archaeological field survey and trial trench evaluation was carried out by Cambridge Archaeological Unit along the route of a new Cambridge Water Company pipeline from Duxford Grange pumping station to the A505. While the fieldwalking produced only one flint flake, the evaluation revealed a number of undated features and one ditch of possible Roman date. The undated features comprised 5 pits and a short section of ditch, all containing sterile silt fills and suggested to be of natural origin. A small ditch on a E-W alignment contained a single sherd of Roman greyware pottery. Two features of 20th century date were exposed. The first was a shallow ditch containing a corroded iron cylinder with the remnants of thick cables attached to the interior base, which may have a wartime date, possibly as part of an anti-glider defence for the airfield. The second feature was a large ditch of over 4m wide and almost 2m depth, with a flat base and vertical sides. While the feature closely resembled anti-tank ditches excavated elsewhere, the recovery of a piece of modern rubbish provided a recent date to the feature