Digging for Britain features A417 excavations

At the A417 near Cheltenham, in the shadow of Crickley Hill Iron Age hillfort, our team have uncovered an unusual Iron Age ‘banjo enclosure’ and ceremonial Iron Age landscape. Professor Alice Roberts visited during the excavation to interview members of the team for the latest series of Digging for Britain.

You can hear all about it on iPlayer 48 minutes into the episode: Season 11, Episode 3.

Our joint venture team, Oxford Cotswold Archaeology, have spent two months excavating the site, which was likely the focus of special Iron Age activities such as feasting. Dating back almost 2,200 years, at the time this area was active, Gloucestershire’s population would have been rapidly expanding with humans making tools and weapons from iron and steel. We’ve uncovered a range of artefacts including animal skulls, butchered animal bones, and evidence of a metal working platform. The crouched burial of a young man, probably aged between 17-20 years, was also discovered within the enclosure. Given the grave’s location, it’s likely this death marked a significant event in the community’s history.

Previous discoveries from the site include an impressive little Roman Cupid figurine, with more discoveries sure to be uncovered as the National Highways project progresses…