Cropmarks of Roman road, round barrows and conjectured site of Roman villa, Crave Hall (EHER 4783)

Cropmarks of a section of Roman Road and ploughed out round barrows. The site is conjectured to be a 'villa site dug by Cambridge' but the details of who excavated the site, when, and what was found are not available. It is probably an error.

Circular and linear cropmarks. Said to be a 'villa site dug by Cambridge'. <1> Nothing visible on aerial photographs. A few sherds of Roman tile on a ploughed south west facing slope, centred TL 5315 4455, but there is no concentration to indicate the site of a building. The supposed excavations not known to residents of Crave Hall, and no mention in Cambridgeshire SMR. <2> Site Assessment: Excavated site? If so, by whom? The ring-ditch and a linear feature which is probably a medieval field boundary were mapped as part of the NMP and were recorded on aerial photographs in 2010. <3> <4> Aerial photography in 2017 and 2018 show that the linear feature is double ditched approximately 8m apart, very straight and extends beyond the NMP mapping and probably represents the course of a Roman Road. There are two ring-ditches, one on either side of the road, which may represent ploughed out round barrows. <5> <6> <7> NRHE data transfer: Nothing visible on air photographs. <8> January 1977. Field survey. A few sherds of Roman tile were seen on a ploughed SW facing slope, centred TL 5315 4455, but there was no concentration that would indicate the site of a building. The supposed excavations were not known to the residents at Crave Hall, and there is no mention in Cambs Sites and Monuments Record. <9> ES 32 Listed as the possible site of a Roman villa. <10>