An archaeological excavation on a field in New Road, Melbourn, which is being developed by Hopkins Homes, has yielded some surprising finds.
An Oxford Archaeological East team based at Bar Hill, which worked on the site between August and December of last year, discovered that not only did it contain Mesolithic and early Neolithic artifacts but also there were finds from the Bronze Age ( 2,000 B.C.) including several pits which contained hundreds of flints, hazelnut shells, and a haul of animal bone.
Project Fieldwork Officer, Stuart Ladd, spoke excitedly about the revelation ” One of the pits contained not only the collected antlers of Red and Roe Deer, but also those of an Elk. This latter mammal is one of the largest Deer species and is not even a native of this part of the World. We were aware of one Iron Age barrow on the site, but further excavations disclosed a further double ditched one that was truncated by an early Medieval ditch. In its centre was a Beaker period (late Neolithic/early Bronze Age ) burial of an adolescent crouched on its side, holding a flat knife, just centimeters from the hollow way of the road.”
The amazing finds, along with photographs of the excavations were show cased at a display at Melbourn Village College on Tuesday evening.
Clemency Cooper, Community Archaeology Manager for the team stated,” It is very important to share the results of our excavations with the public. We work closely with local schools and other public bodies. This has been a really good community event, with lots of local interest, and above all very well attended”.
