Monument record 0768600000 - Land off Stablebridge Road

Geophysical survey carried out by Archaeological Surveys Ltd in January 2011 identified a number of very weak positive and negaitive linear anomalies suggestive of buried ditches and banks, possibly of agricultural origin (B2).
Evaluation trial trenching carried out by Oxford Archaeology in February 2011 in advance of proposed residential development, found a number of ditches, pits, postholes and finds of late Iron Age and early Roman date, suggesting the presence of a settlement within or close to the site. Environmental evidence suggests a wet or damp environment. See report for detail (B3).
Excavation identified evidence of Late Iron Age and Roman settlement within the Icknield Belt, a broad zone following the chalk escarpment of the Chiterns known to be favoured for settlement in the prehistoric and later periods. The earliest settlemtn comprised a curvilinear group of small ditched enclosures associated with a number of rectangular and circular post-built structures. Around AD60-70 the site appears t have been re-ordered. Large, ditched, rectangular enclosures replacing the earlier settlement. During the late 1st to early 2nd century 20m wide droveway was laid out. This was consolidated in the 2nd century, becoming narrower with a metalled surface. Wheel ruts identified along sections of the metalling. Evidence of a pre-medieval trackway of the 'Lower Icknield Way'. Roman rectangular enclosures following the trackway continued in use into the 3rd and 4th centuries. Evidence of early Saxon activity was also identified. Four burials were also identified, 3 Roman inhumations, including a neonatal, and 1 Early Saxon female (B4).