Roman cemetery adjacent to the modern railway station, 'South-Western cemetery', Great Chesterford (EHER 4948)

The south-western cemetery is the broad collection of Roman inhumation and cremation burials on the opposite side of the River Cam to the town. The burials are widely scattered over an area of approximately 600 x 250m, and have two focal points: at the Braughing Road and in the vicinity of the modern railway station. Some evidence for burial is conjectural and much is from antiqurian sources, but modern excavations in the 1970s, 1980s and since 2000 have continued to recover evidence. Many of the burials are richly furnished, as is evidenced by an extensive metalwork assemblage recovered in the late 18th century (EHER 83422) and a mixed artefactual assemblage recovered by Lord Braybrooke (EHER 4959). Buildings of this date, and which may be associated with the cemetery or with funerary activity, have been recorded at Braughing Road (EHER 4940 and EHER 45212) in the west and the Nursery site in the east (EHER 83417). An excavation in 2015 also interpreted a series of Roman ditches as a possible boundary to the cemetery (EHER 83410).

The south-western cemetery is located on the opposite side of the River Cam to the town. Burials are widely scattered over an area of approximately 600 x 250m. There appears to have been one group close to the Braughing Road (EHER 4928, EHER 4959), while a second group was located in the vicinity of the modern railway station (EHER 83422). <1> See also <2>. Site Assessment: Further development likely. <3> This record draws together the archaeological evidence for a Roman cemetery to the south-west of the town, in chronological order of discovery. It also provides links to relevant records where you can find more information on each discovery. An antiquarian account from the late 18th century records an extensive metalwork assemblage found in three discoveries and which may have been associated with a skeleton and at least one cremation burial. The finds are suggested to have originated to the west of the modern railway, but may be associated with the cemetery. See EHER 83422. In 1823-1824 several small vases, placed in a circle were found close to the railway station. See EHER 83412. Fragments of pottery and 'ashes' were recorded near the railway station but the year is not recorded. See EHER 83413. In 1850 an urn was found behind the Greyhound Inn. See EHER 4928. In 1855 or 1856 Braybrooke excavated at least 25 infant burials, one adult inhumation and seven urned cremations in the field beyond the Cam, skirted by the modern road to Ickleton (adjacent to the Greyhound Inn site, also referred to as Vintners). See EHER 4959. In 1908 Prof. McKenny Hughes wrote about having acquired various urns from the south side of Chesterford and describes Roman interments along the river, suggesting they were found in great density. See EHER 83445. In 1934 during gravel extraction on the opposite side of the approach road to the railway station many urns and skeletons were found. See EHER 83414. In 1971 human bones were reported from the Nursery (see EHER 83415) and in 1975 from behind and to the south of the garage (see EHER 83416). Roman building also reported (see EHER 83417). In 1989, a watching brief recorded Iron Age to Roman cremation burials and five possible inhumation burials at Ickleton Rod (sometimes referred to as the Ickleton Road cemetery). See EHER 13895. Undated human remains were also recovered from a gravel pit and may belong to the cemetery. See EHER 4949. Romano-British burials are said to have been found at London Road, but no more information is available. See EHER 4950. An evalution in 2015 recorded Roman ditches. A subsequent excavation recorded four Roman inhumation burials (including an infant burial) and interpreted the Roman ditches as a boundary to the cemetery. See EHER 83410. Note: The mapped extent of this cemetery is loosely based on the figure in source <3> and has been determined by the mapped location of the above records, for which it provides a bounding outline. It does not reflect a definitive maximum extent of the cemetery, but rather it aims to provide a broad grouping of funerary activity to the east of the town. It is an interpretation of the available, sometimes uncertain, evidence. Given the two burial groups described above, the evidence may represent more than one cemetery. The burials discussed above have also all been given a broad 'Roman' date and a more thorough understanding of the character of the cemetery/cemeteries would benefit from more refined dating material, which for the above records, was not always recorded when the discoveries were made.