At the Great Crossroads

The widening of the road between the Monkton and Mount Pleasant roundabouts on the A253 led to the archaeological investigation of a 3km long strip of land between July 1994 and February 1995.

Prehistoric discoveries included Neolithic inhumations and pits, well-preserved Beaker graves and ten ring-ditches of late Neolithic and Bronze Age date. An extensive and unusual Roman settlement of the late first to early second century AD was characterised by a large number of sunken-floored buildings. A small rectangular structure on the fringes of the settlement may have been a roadside shrine. A small Anglo-Saxon cemetery was located at the eastern end of the excavated area and at the western end a medieval farmstead with at least five buildings was investigated.

The information is presented in four parts covering the main periods of occupation of the site and each chapter includes specialist reports on pottery, small finds, human and animal bones and the plant and insect remains.