An iron age settlement

As part of the redevelopment of the Unwins site, an archaeological dig was done. What follows is the press release about the findings:

Surprise as 2,000-year history emerges

Roman remains have been discovered at the old Unwins Nursery in Impington.

An archaeological dig at the site, which will become a new housing development, has also revealed signs of Iron Age occupation from as long ago as 100 BC.

Oxford Archaeology East, formerly the Cambridgeshire County Council Field Unit, has uncovered the remains of a roundhouse that contained pottery and animal bone.

Site director Chris Thatcher said: “We did not expect to find such important Iron Age and Roman remains here at Impington, we can now see the origins of the village going back over 2,000 years.”

Archaeologists have found a series of ditches revealing enclosures and farmyards, which were rich in pottery and artefacts dating back to the second and third centuries AD.

High status Samian pottery excavated is in such good condition the potter’s stamp is still intact, enabling the artist from 1,800 years ago to be traced back to France.

Other artefacts, including high quality pottery imported from Gaul in the first century BC, fragments of wine and olive oil amphorae and more utilitarian pottery and quern-stone fragments that were used for crop processing, have given a “fascinating” insight into life on a Roman farm.