N.I.A.B. Research Centre, Park Farm, Impington: An Archaeological Evaluation & Excavation.
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An archaeological evaluation and subsequent excavation was carried out at Park Farm, Villa Road, Cambridgeshire (centred TL 4348 6310) by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit between 14th February and 25th March 2008. The work was undertaken on behalf of the National Institute of Agricultural Botany in advance of the redevelopment of a field station and laboratory. A total area of 1,426m² was examined in seventeen trial trenches, followed by a small open area excavation and three further trenches totalling 796 m². The evaluation and excavation revealed Late Bronze Age activity in the form of a four post structure and an eighteen post sub-circular structure, indicative of small scale or seasonal flux occupation. Later agricultural activity was indicated by a Middle Iron Age curvilinear ditch and evidence of two alignments of post-medieval fields. The results of the excavation contradict the traditional opinion that the Gault clay area north of Cambridge was not suitable for such prehistoric settlement, and suggests that the 'blank' in the archaeological record reflects an absence of evidence due to more limited fieldwork in these areas.