PCA undertook excavations of a site adjacent to the scheduled Iron Age and Roman settlement at Braughing, Hertfordshire. The location of the development indicated there was high potential for the existence of archaeological remains. It was also situated close to the convergence of several important Roman roads and lay within a few metres of an early Roman settlement and cemetery – excavated in the 1970s and referred to as ‘Skeleton Green.’
PCA worked closely with the client’s development team and was also able to act quickly to amend the location of trial trenches to meet required revisions to the housing scheme.
The investigations revealed evidence for Late Iron Age activity in the form of enclosure ditches and associated material culture including imported pottery and a large faunal assemblage, both of which are indicative of high status activity. The most significant results from the excavation comprised an extensive, well-preserved and occasionally deeply-stratified Romano-British cemetery. Nearly 300 cremations and 100 inhumations were recorded. Burials were uncovered across the site, with the southeast corner the primary focus for the cremation burials. Some of the burials had mortuary enclosures. We also found evidence of funeral pyres. The vast majority of the cremations were placed within pottery urns, with many of the burials containing grave goods in the form of further pottery vessels, hobnail boots and jewellery; two were originally deposited in wooden boxes. The burials were recorded and removed according to the WSI. A well-preserved example of an early medieval tile making kiln that was later converted into a barn was also found on site.
