Archaeology isn’t just about people, it’s also about places. In fact, one thing that makes archaeology so important is that it can tell us about how entire landscapes looked in the past. It helps us understand why people lived where they did, the food they were eating, the materials they…
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Warning: this blog post contains images and discussion of human remains. When archaeologists working on the National Highways A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon scheme discovered a fragment of a comb, they knew they had found something unusual. But it took months of research by MOLA’s Finds Specialist, Michael Marshall, and Osteology…
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During our excavations on the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon National Highways scheme, we have found some amazing archaeology, including the earliest physical evidence for beer brewing and flint tools from more than 4000 years ago. But archaeology isn’t just about the ancient past. In fact, it helps us understand the…
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In 2021 Saskia Brogan and Katie Manby were awarded MA Scholarships for Reading University, funded by National Highways. This included placements working with the MOLA Headland team on the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Road Improvement Scheme, where they took part in a wide range of post-excavation work. Now they have both…
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A spotlight on the mysterious funerary clerks of St James’s Burial Ground We’re working hard with volunteers to learn about the 18th and 19th century Londoners buried in St James’s Burial Ground. This project is part of the HS2 scheme. We’re finding out these Londoners’ names, ages and where they…
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As archaeologists, we usually focus on the excavation and analysis of the physical remains of people’s lives, such as pottery, bone, and coins. But there is another source of information which can bring a new element to our investigations! In this blog we will explore some historic documents. These relate…
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Archaeology is not just the study of past human activity. It also looks at the animals that inhabited ancient landscapes. During excavations on the National Highways A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Road Improvement Scheme we retrieved more than four tonnes of animal bones, which we are now studying in detail. Our…
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The further we travel back in time, the harder it becomes to read the traces left by our ancestors. While we have a wide variety of objects, buildings, and even written materials dating to our recent past, not as much survives from the Stone Age (c. 500,000-2200 BC). We have…
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People from all walks of life were buried at St James’s Burial Ground, rich and poor, young and old. The cemetery was used from 1790 to 1843, during a time when London was expanding quickly. It struggled to deal with London’s increasing population and closed to new burials earlier than…
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Excavations on the National Highways A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Road Improvement Scheme may be complete, but we’re continuing to study the incredible amount of finds unearthed. Now, when you think about X-rays you probably imagine hospitals and airport security rather than archaeology and ancient pots. However, recently more than 100…
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