Late Iron Age activity at Wicken Bonhunt (Site name: C-MG2) (EHER 45231)

Archaeological investigations on the line of a new gas pipeline at Wicken Bonhunt revealed evidence of significant Late Iron Age activity, along with later prehistoric worked flints, a Late Bronze Age pit and a medieval to post-medieval trackway. Late Iron Age activity at this site appears to have comprised occupation in a round house, presumed to be contemporary with three other round houses recorded immediately to the east (EHER 335). This was followed by the construction of a large fenced enclosure, a parallel gully and a nine-post structure, possibly a granary. The final phase of Late Iron Age to Roman activity comprised the creation of a large four-sided rectilinear ditched enclosure and evidence of nearby settlement.

2002. Field survey. Some distinct pit-like anomalies may be indicative of settlement activity. The findings lie within the vicinity of (immediately to the west and north-west of) three ring ditches (EHER 335) <1> 2004. Evaluation and excavation on the Cambridge to Matching Green pipeline. Site 2. Evaluation and excavation revealed 4-post and 9-post structures, roundhouses and enclosure ditches of Iron Age or Roman date. <2> 6 pits, 2 pits?, 2 east-west ditches with three recuts, 1 ring ditch, 1 colluvial layer = Iron Age <3> Activity dating from the Bronze Age to the medieval or post-medieval periods was recorded, with the majority of the evidence dating from the Late Iron Age to early Roman period. Seventy four fragments of knapped flint were recovered from the site. The material was probably residual as nearly half was in poor condition and most was from stratified contexts dating to the late Iron Age or later. Most of the assemblage comprised waste flakes and knapping debris. Only one fragment of flint was diagnostic. This was a waisted core tool which typically would be associated with Neolithic assemblages. The flint is thought to represent transitory activity at this location in the Neolithic to Bronze Age. A single pit feature contained 124 fragments of Late Bronze Age pottery from a single vessel, and 24 worked flints. This pit did not contain charcoal or burnt bone so is thought to be domestic rather than funerary in origin. The earliest phase of Late Iron Age activity comprised a poorly defined, discontinuous ring gully with a diameter of 6.3m This was interpreted as an eaves drip gully surrounding a roundhouse. It had a west-facing entrance 3.95m wide and was defined by three slots and two post-holes. Internal features comprised two pits or post-holes. A single stake hole just outside the entrance was the only external feature. No dating evidence was recovered from these features, but this group of features was attributed to the Late Iron Age on the basis of their morphology. Further features of this date were a series of post-holes towards the south-west corner of the site from which 13 sherds of 1st century AD pottery and seven sherds of Late Iron Age pottery were recovered. The roundhouse recorded here is the only direct evidence of occupation. It is likely that the roundhouse was part of a group including three others recorded separately as cropmarks to the east (EHER 335). The second phase of Late Iron Age activity comprised a large fenced enclosure, a parallel gully and a nine-post structure, possibly a granary. No datable finds were recovered from the possible granary. The parallel gullies were interpreted as a trackway, with some traces of metalling evident. The excavators believe that the fenced enclosure may have been a corral with a drove way to guide animals into the enclosure. The final phase of Late Iron Age to Roman activity comprised a large four-sided rectilinear ditched enclosure dating (based on pottery retrieved from two cross-sections of the ditch) from the Late Iron Age to late 1st century AD. The ditch was substantial, measuring up to 3.9m wide and 1.45m deep. Associated with this feature were two ditches which probably represented internal division of the enclosure. Other features associated with this phase of activity include several gullies, pits and post-holes. The enclosure ditch contained butchered cattle bone, suggesting slaughtering took place nearby, and other artefacts of a more domestic nature, such as loomweights, pottery and clay slabs, indicating nearby settlement. Possible Roman activity on this site comprised two pits in the south-eastern part of the site, one of which contained 49 sherds of mid-1st to early 2nd century pottery. This feature seems most likely to have been a rubbish pit, perhaps indicating settlement nearby. Medieval or post-medieval evidence included a trackway comprising parallel wheel ruts flanked by a pair of parallel ditches, and the possible remains of a metalled surface. The ditches beside the track were substantial, with that to the east measuring up to 4m wide and 1.95m deep and that to the west measuring up to 1.8m wide and 0/63m deep. This track corresponds exactly to a track shown on the Wicken Bonhunt tithe map of 1842. It seems to have run alongside a pre-enclosure field and provided access to a series of narrow strip fields. Undated features included post-holes, pits, a series of probable quarry pits and a further pit group Information from <4>.