Cannington Bypass, Somerset

Excavations undertaken in advance of the construction of a road bypass around Cannington, in Somerset, associated with the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station development, revealed Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman and later remains. At the northern end of the route, near Rodway, was a small Middle Bronze Age settlement comprising two roundhouses, with associated Trevisker-related pottery and plant remains. In the central part of the route at Sandy Lane, a Roman villa was shown to have developed from a Late Iron Age ridge-top settlement. In the Early medieval period the site was reoccupied, with slight evidence for a timber building, although its date was not certain. There were no associated finds dating to this period.