Village forges Iron Age link
Submitted by coldrum on Tuesday, 03 April 2007 Page Views: 2337
Iron Age and Later PrehistoryCountry: England County: Cambridgeshire Type: Ancient Village or SettlementInternal Links:
Archaeologists have uncovered Iron Age secrets during a village dig. Cambridgeshire County Council's archaeological field unit (CAM ARC) visited Bassingbourn Village College, and gave residents the chance to learn about the village's past.
The excavation was being carried out before the construction of the college's new sports hall and after a archaeological evaluation on the site had been carried out.
So far CAM ARC has unearthed evidence of a settlement dating from the middle Iron Age - about 300 BC.
Visitors to the site, in the college grounds, were able to watch the excavation during a series of guided tours, conducted by site director Tom Phillips and county council outreach officer David Crawford-White.
Mr Crawford-White said: "The excavation has revealed the edge of an Iron Age settlement.
"We have also found pieces of pottery that so far dates to about 400 BC, and the settlement may go back to the Roman period."
Bassingbourn has a long and rich history, and another archaeological dig near Bury Yard suggested a late Saxon date for the founding of the village.
Mr Crawford-White said: "That site is associated with Eddeva the Fair, who was the widow of Edward the Confessor."
Over the years there has been a number of Roman finds, such as coins, a statuette of the goddess Diana, and pieces of pottery.
Prehistoric evidence has also been found, including a Neolithic axe and a Bronze Age rapier.
Mr Crawford-White said: "The current excavation is believed to have pushed back the history of Bassingbourn more than 1,000 years."
Project manager James Drummond-Murray added: "The excavations have given us a rare glimpse into the prehistoric past of Bassingbourn, helping us understand what life was like here more than 2,000 years ago.
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