Fenland Way, Chatteris, Cambridgeshire. An Archaeological Excavation.

Abstract

Following a trial trench evaluation undertaken in 2012 the Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) undertook a further programme of trial trenching and full excavation of targeted areas on land west of Fenland Way, Chatteris (centred on TL 3881 8649). An intermittent watching brief was simultaneously carried out on the west side of the Fenton Lode/Twenty Foot Drain to monitor groundworks associated with the relocation of the drain. An open area excavation (0.43ha) focussed on an area of Roman activity identified by the evaluation, revealed the remains of an Early Roman saltern as well as a number of Roman features associated with peripheral settlement activity. Two additional trial trenches revealed the western part of the development area had been significantly truncated during the construction of the Fenton Lode/Twenty Foot Drain. On the west side of the drain, features were limited to machine cut trenches and field drains related to post-medieval/modern agriculture.