Archaeologists discovered a late Iron Age/early Roman settlement along the route of the Highway Agency’s A453 widening scheme. The team from Wessex Archaeology identified the site as a farmstead dating from the 1st century BC to the 3rd century AD.
Finds from the site include the foundation of a stone building, human remains, and pots placed in pits in the ground. Remnants of household waste also survived, such as broken domestic pottery and discarded animal bone.
Wessex Archaeology Project Manager Andy Norton said:
The finds from our work tell us that farming has taken place on this site for over 2,000 years. The site was home to a farmstead that lasted for several generations and was home to ordinary Romano-British people. It is fascinating that we have found the graves of two of the people that lived here.
The human remains have provided important dating evidence. One individual was buried in a crouched position and is likely to be Iron Age in date. The second individual was buried in the extended position, which was usually a Roman ritual. These graves have been considerably damaged by ploughing, and it is possible that others have been completely destroyed.
The dig has been carried out alongside other advance work for the road improvement scheme, which will widen a seven mile stretch of the busy A453 in Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. Highways Agency Senior Project Manager Iftikhar Mir said:
While widening the existing A453 is all about planning for the future, it’s important that we also consider the past which is why archaeological work is an integral part of what we do at the Highways Agency.It is important that the area’s history is recorded and preserved to help inform future generations.