The excavation comes to an end (Milton, week 17)

As we approach the culmination of the fieldwork, we reflect on the last few months during which our dedicated team have meticulously excavated an astounding 365 hand-dug interventions. These sustained efforts have rewarded us with a wealth of knowledge and insights that offer a captivating glimpse into Roman life in Cambridge.

Throughout our explorations, we have consistently unearthed a rich tapestry of evidence, shedding light on various aspects of daily life. The evidence confirms practices linked to livestock husbandry, hints at potential agricultural activities, including dairying and meat production. Distributed within the features throughout the site have been animal bones, fragments of Roman courseware pottery, and exquisite tablewares, personal artefacts, and building materials occasionally accompanied by residual Iron Age artefacts.

The network of overlapping ditches that we’ve investigated were arranged in a grid-like pattern that formed enclosures of differing periods from the 1^st–4^th centuries AD and likely incorporated both arable and stock-rearing practices at different times. The enclosures underwent a dynamic process of change in layout comprising modifications, expansion, subdivision, and reconfiguration throughout their use. This flexibility suggests they catered to the needs of a commercial enterprise supporting a villa estate and this was tied to the economic fortunes of Duroliponte (Cambridge), mirroring shifts in local markets and regional economic trends over the period of its occupation.

The significance of these discoveries extends beyond the realm of food production. Evidence of butchery for meat and the utilisation of bone marrow is expected to be accompanied by an absence of foot/leg bones typically removed during skinning, with the export of skins from site potentially being sold for hide and leather tanning elsewhere. Similarly, horn cores may have supplied material to other crafting activities for carving. In essence, our excavations have uncovered a multi-faceted narrative, highlighting not only the culinary practices of the era but also the broader economic and artisanal activities that thrived within this Roman community in Cambridge, and are expected to become more explicit through the post-excavation assessment and analysis stages of the work.

As we shift our gaze towards the future, our endeavours will pivot towards this critical post-excavation work. We plan to harness the combined environmental and scientific expertise of our dedicated ARS Specialist Services team and engage with external finds experts from various backgrounds to craft a coherent and insightful narrative for the site. Our overarching objective is not merely to quantify the treasures we’ve unearthed, but further to embark on a thorough exploration of the site’s chronological evolution and the meaningful evidence uncovered in pursuit of Regional Research Objectives.

The immediate next step is an in-depth examination of the site’s potential chronology, the precise quantification of our discoveries, and to draw upon the invaluable insights provided by our team of experts to assess the archaeology and to lay the groundwork for analysis. Our goal is to construct a comprehensive and compelling narrative that will unlock the knowledge concealed by the site’s treasures, to make a fresh and original contribution to the archaeology of Cambridgeshire, and to make this publicly assessable. If you are part of a local group or society and would like to know more, get in touch. We will be seeking to offer further community opportunities next year in the form of school visits and society talks. We would be thrilled to hear from you.

Thanks for joining us on our journey of discovery here at Milton in Cambridgeshire!

Read the previous update (week 16).

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