An Archaeological Investigation of the Route of the Isleham-Ely Water Pipeline, Cambridgeshire

The investigation of the route of a water supply pipeline furnished the archaeological record with three significant site locations which essentially demonstrate that prehistoric land use and range from the Neolithic to Iron Age periods. Of prime importance was the investigation of the waterlogged relict channel of the former course of the Rover Snail. This provided a rich context for environmental data but, more importantly, for the fragments of human bone, Neolithic flintwork and pottery. The discovery of a new Iron Age site filled the gap in settlement history in the region. Natural depressions in the chalk landscape at the southeast end of the route had been employed as working/industrial hollows in the earlier Neolithic and were associated with earth-cut features containing substantial faunal assemblages. Other areas along the route indicated little more than the offsite background information expected in such investigation corridors