Settlements through time
Explore some of the Iron Age and Roman settlements along the A428...
In 2022 we excavated this settlement as part of the National Highways A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet Improvement Scheme. The settlement was occupied for centuries and is part of a wider landscape of farmsteads dotted across this region.
In these interactive maps you can see where we’ve excavated different finds and features, and learn how the site changes over hundreds of years. Explore the maps by clicking the numbered points to see what we unearthed!
Early phase (before 50 BC)
This map shows the earliest evidence of people living around this area – during the Iron Age (700 BC – AD 43) and earlier. We can see that people had settled here by the Iron Age, but don’t know if anyone lived in this exact spot before then.
Transitional Phase (50 BC - 200 AD)
This map shows the change from Iron Age to growing Roman influence on the settlement. We mainly see this change in new technologies and access to goods from the rest of the Roman Empire.
Roman Period (200 - 410 AD)
This map shows how the settlement continues to change and develop in the later part of the Roman period. By this point, people have lived here in practically the same spot at different times over hundreds of years.
Other Settlements
This farmstead is one of several similar settlements that existed all across this area. This map shows one of these settlements, which we excavated 2021-2022. It also spans from the Iron Age into the Roman period, with evidence of people in the area even earlier.