Table Of ContentThe Fenland Project, Number 6:
The South-Western
Cambridgeshire Fenlands
East Anglian Archaeology
Cambridgeshire County Council 1992
EAST ANGLIAN ARCHAEOLOGY
(
---
The F enland Project,
Number6:
The South-western
Cambridgeshire F enlands
by David Hall
with contributions from
David Gurney, Robert Middleton and Rog Palmer
illustrations by
Rog Palmer and Tim Malim
and photographs by
David Hall and Cambridge
University Committee for
Aerial Photography
East Anglian Archaeology
Report No. 56,1992
F enland Project Committee
Cambridgeshire County Council
EAST ANGLIAN ARCHAEOLOGY
REPORT No. 56
Published by
Cambridgeshire Archaeological Committee
do Cambridgeshire Archaeology
Cambridgeshire County Council
Shire Hall
Cambridge
in conjunction with
The Fenland Project Committee and
The Scole Archaeological Committee Ltd
Editor: David Buckley
Managing Editor: Susie West
Scole Editorial Sub-Committee:
David Buckley, County Archaeologist, Essex Planning Department
Keith Wade, County Archaeological Officer, Suffolk Planning Department
Peter Wade-Martins, County Field Archaeologist, Norfolk Museums Service
Stanley West
Typeset in Plantin by Spire Origination, Norwich
Printed by
© CAMBRIDGESHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL
COMMITTEE 1992
ISBN 0 9519544 0 7
For details of East Anglian Archaeology, see last page
This volume is published with the aid of a grant from
the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England
Cover illustration A blow in Holme Fen, taken from TL 2ll2 8810 looking west. Photo David Hall
Contents
List of Contents V
List of Plates V
List of Figures Vl
List of Tables Vl
Contents of Microfiche Vll
Contributors Vll
Acknowledgements Vll
Abbreviations Vll
1. An introduction to the Fenland 7. Ramsey 41
Survey Reports 8. Parts ofWarboys 49
so
9. Parts of Pidley cum Fent on and
I. Introduction 3
Somersham
11. Previous work 3 ss
10. Benw ick and Doddington
Ill. Fenland Pleistocene and Flandrian 3
11. Wimblington 63
deposits
12. Mane a 74
IV. Reconstruction of the Fenland Landscape 6
13. Chatteris 84
14. Summary 96
2. Introduction to the south-western
Cambridgeshire Fen survey Appendix 1: Air Photograph Features,
I. The study area 9 by Rog Palmer 104
11. The organisation of this volume 10 Appendix 2: The Walker Collection,
Ill. Fieldwork techniques and recording 10 by H. R. Middleton 106
Appendix 3: The Roman pottery,
The Parish Essays by David Gmney 109
Bibliography lll
3. Parts of Peterborough and Stanground IS
Index liS
4. Farcet and Yaxley 19
s. Microfiche
Holme with parts of Denton and Stilton 26
6. Wood Walton with parts of Conington, 33
Sawtry and Great Raveley
List of Plates
Pl. I Vertical air photograph of Conington 4 Pl. V Medieval blocks of limestone etched 32
Fen, showing periglacial features, with masons' identification marks,
TL 19 84 discovered when Whittlesey Mere
s
Pl. 11 Prehistoric logs in Holme Fen, TL was drained, TL 232 909
2187 Pl. VI Ramsey Abbey undercroft, TL 292 48
Pl. Ill Whittlesey Mere; the location of the 26 8Sl
former mere is indicated by the Pl. VII Bronze Age boat found at Warboys 49
deposit of white marl, TL 23 89 in 1910, TL 317 827
ss
Pl.IV Roman quem and (medieval?) 30 Pl. VIII Benwick village street, TL 342 903
fishnet weight at Top Farm, Holme, Pl. IX Chatteris site 32: (a) from the air and 90
TL 203 871 (b) from the ground, TL 4102 8271
V
List of Figures
Fig. 1 Location of the Wash Fenlands 2 Benwick and Doddington
Fig. 2 Flandrian deposits in the area surveyed 7 Fig. 30 Modern landscape and topography 57
Fig. 3 Location of the parishes surveyed 9 Fig. 31 Quality and extent of fieldwork 58
Fig. 4 Symbols used in the reconstructions of 11 Fig. 32 Neolithic landscape 59
fen landscapes Fig. 33 Bronze Age landscape 60
Fig. 34 Medieval landscape 61
Peterborough and Stanground
Fig. 5 Modern landscape and topography 14 Wimblington
Fig. 6 Quality and extent of fieldwork 16 Fig. 35 Modern landscape and topography 64
Fig. 7 Archaeological sites 17 Fig. 36 Quality and extent of fieldwork 65
Fig. 37 Neolithic and Bronze Age landscape 66
F arce t and Y axley Fig. 38 Iron Age landscape 68
Fig. 8 Modern landscape and topography 20 Fig. 39 Stonea 'Camp', site 1 69
Fig. 9 Quality and extent of fieldwork 21 Fig. 40 Roman landscape 70
Fig. 10 Bronze Age landscape 23 Fig. 41 Roman sites and canals in the 71
Fig. 11 Medieval landscape 24 Wimblington and March region
Fig. 42 Medieval landscape 73
Holmearea
Fig. 12 Modern landscape and topography 27 Manea
Fig. 13 Quality and extent of fieldwork 28 Fig. 43 Modern landscape and topography 75
Fig. 14 Bronze Age landscape 29 Fig. 44 Quality and extent of fieldwork 76
Fig. 15 Medieval landscape with Roman sites 31 Fig. 45 Neolithic landscape 77
Fig. 46 Bronze Age landscape 79
Wood Walton area Fig. 47 Iron Age and Roman landscape 80
Fig. 16 Modern landscape and topography 34 Fig. 48 Cropmarks at site 7 81
Fig. 17 Quality and extent of fieldwork 35 Fig. 49 Medieval landscape 82
Fig. 18 Bronze Age landscape 36
Fig. 19 Small fmds from various parishes 37 Chatteris
Fig. 20 Roman sites and medieval landscape 39 Fig. SO Modern landscape and topography 85
Fig. 51 Quality and extent of fieldwork 86
Ramsey Fig. 52 Neolithic landscape 87
Fig. 21 Modern landscape and topography 43 Fig. 53 Bronze Age landscape 88
Fig. 22 Quality and extent of fieldwork 44 Fig. 54 Iron Age and Roman landscape 91
Fig. 23 Neolithic landscape 45 Fig. SS Cropmarks at sites 12, 13 and 26 93
Fig. 24 Bronze Age landscape 46 Fig. 56 Medieval landscape 92
Fig. 25 Medieval landscape 47
Summary
Fent on and Somersham Fig. 57 Regional plan ofNeolithic fen 97
Fig. 26 Modern landscape and topography 51 Fig. 58 Regional plan of Bronze Age fen 99
Fig. 27 Quality and extent of fieldwork 52 Fig. 59 Regional plan of Iron Age fen 100
Fig. 28 Prehistoric landscape 53 Fig. 60 Regional plan of Roman fen 101
Fig. 29 Medieval landscape 54 Fig. 61 Regional plan of medieval fen 102
Fig. 62 Locations of Manea lithic sites 107
Plan ofFenland showing area reported
in this volume Back Cover
List of Tables
Table 1 Names of Flandrian marine deposits 5 Table 4 Roman pottery types by parish llO
Table 2 Parish groupings and areas 9 Table 5 Roman pottery compared with llO
Table 3 Background lithic concentrations at 93 results of Cameron 1987
Chatteris
vi
Contents of microfiche
Table of Contents
Gazetteer 1 Sites and monuments record
Gazetteer 2 Details of features mapped from aerial
photographs
Contributors
David Gurney, B.A., M.I.F.A., Robert Middleton, B.A., M.A., M.I.F.A.,
Principal Landscape Archaeologist, Norfolk Landscape Northwest Wetlands Survey,
Archaeology Archaeological Unit, Physics Building, Lancaster
University, L414YW
David Hall, M.A., F.S.A.,
Fenland Field Officer, c/o Department of Archaeology, Rog Palmer, B.A.,
University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, Fenland Project, c/o Department of Archaeology,
CB23DZ University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge,
CB23DZ
T.J.P. Malim, B.A.,
Fenland Research Assistant, c/o Cambridgeshire
Archaeology, Cambridgeshire County Council, Shire
Hall, Cambridge, CB3 OAP
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to the many landowners and farmers who dleton for references to Whittlesey Mere fishing sites;
have willingly given access to their land, especially the T.W. PuLLer for information about Stonea; M. Wailer
Honourable]. A. Fellowes, J. Bliss of Holme, and P. and R.G.O Burton for advice on the Flandrian deposits;
Short of Manea; to J. Mason of ADAS, March, for local J. M. Coles and R. Palmer for reading the text. The
and farming information; to E. Standen of Yarwell for Cambridge University Committee for Aerial Photogra-
information about his fieldwork and excavations and for phy gave permission for the publication of Plates I and
local information and contacts; A Cox for permission to Ill, E. DeWindt for Plate VI, and Norfolk·Archaeologi-
examine Ramsey artefacts and S. Onyett for permission cal Unit for Plate IX.a.
to photograph the objects shown in Plate IV; P. Mid-
Abbreviations
BL British Library CUL Cambridge University Library
CAR Cambridgeshire Archaeological Record HRO Huntingdon Record Office
(an item held in the Sites and PRO Public Record Office
Monuments Record at Shire Hall, RCHME Royal Commission on Historical
Cambridge) Monuments (England)
CRO Cambridgeshire County Record Office
CUCAP Cambridge University Collection of
Aerial Photographs
Vll
