Archaeology of Clay and Glebe Farms, South Cambridge: The 2005 Evaluation

Commissioned by Countryside Properties Ltd anticipating house construction, the Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) have carried out a large-scale archaeological evaluation at Glebe Farm (centred on TL447541) and Clay Farm fields (centred on TL445550) on the southern side of Cambridge Following fieldwalking and geophysical survey during the autumn of 2004, trial trenching occurred first in March and later throughout the autumn of 2005 In the course of this work, a total area of 112.5ha has been variously investigated (Undertaken on behalf of Cambs County Council, the programme also included the line of the proposed road corridor, which skirts the southern side of the main fields and continues eastward beyond the line of the Cambridge/London railway route; the latter representing an additional 1.7ha.). This divides into three broad zones: (1) Clay Farm - The Eastern ‘Green Corridor’ Fields - An area of 52.5ha where, aside from trenching specifically associated with the roadway corridor and, earlier, the RTS Bus route (Cessford & Mackay 2004), only surface fieldwalking has been undertaken. (2) Clay Farm - The Western Fields - This c 48.7ha area has been subject to trial trenching throughout (including two areas - 1.1ha - investigated during the earlier RTS Guided Busway evaluation; Cessford & Mackay 2004). (3) Glebe Farm - A separate 11.3ha land parcel to the southwest (including the road corridor along its southern side). Generally representing a 2.5% area sample, in the course of the fieldwork 7210m length of c 2.00m wide trial trenches were excavated (14,420sqm)