1997 Excavations at King's Dyke (Area A), Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire

Abstract

This report concerns a secondary stage of a programme of excavations to the west of a c.2. hectare area (designated ‘Topsoil 95’) north of the kiln yard of the King’s Dyke brick pit, west of Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire. This area forms a strip along the east end of a c.11 hectare field (Area A), designated for surface stripping in advance of clay extraction with the extension of the quarry area. The excavations complement earlier investigations by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit between March and April 1996. The work is part of a rolling programme of assessment and excavation carried out by the CAU in advance of deep quarrying of the underlying mineral resources. Stonald Field just to the east was evaluated in 1994 and a more extensive evaluation programme with test excavations across the whole of Area A was carried out in October 1995. The current stage of fieldwork was undertaken between 3rd and 6th April and was funded throughout by Hanson Brick Ltd.