An Archaeological Desk Based Assessment of Land Adjacent to Laundry Farm, Barton Road, Cambridge

Abstract

This Archaeological Desk Based Assessment was commissioned by Cambridge University Estates Management and Buildings Services. It concerns a field of 6.6 hectares to the north of Laundry Farm, Barton Road, Cambridge. This study is being produced in advance of the redevelopment of this land into a sports complex on behalf of Downing College. The study reveals a potential for archaeology of several periods, notably Roman, with known archaeology, specifically a Roman road crossing the development area. During Medieval and Post-Medieval times, this area was agricultural land lying within the Cambridge West Fields. Ridge and furrow within the development area and the surrounding study area illustrate this clearly. This ploughing throughout the Medieval and Post Medieval periods may have had an impact upon the preservation of any earlier archaeology.