Fascinating archaeological finds in east Hertfordshire

Our work the A120 Little Hadham Bypass and Flood Alleviation scheme have revealed an intriguing insight into a 2000-year-old lost settlement.

The excavations were carried out over the summer and autumn months of 2019, in preparation for the construction of the new A120 route around the Hertfordshire village of Little Hadham.

Geophysical surveys were initially deployed in 2016, followed by trial trenching to test what might lie beneath the otherwise inconspicuous farmers’ fields. These preliminary explorations hinted that prehistoric and Roman remains survived, buried, along the line of the new road. As a result, a major archaeological excavation was undertaken in advance of construction.

The excavations did not disappoint. The site team were quick to discover the foundations of Iron Age (300 BC) houses and the remains of the former field boundaries that would have sub-divided the farming landscape during this time. However, much of the archaeologist’s efforts were focussed on the Roman period remains, dating to the 1^st to 4^th centuries AD. A small cemetery was unearthed including the remains of four burials and 16 cremations, some of which survived within their urns.

Some of the more eye-catching finds include the 72 Roman bronze coins; nearly all of which date to a very short period between AD 330 and AD 348, the time when the House of Constantine ruled the Roman Empire.

Find out more about the archaeology of the A120 Little Hadham Bypass and Flood Alleviation scheme by following the link below.