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The 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