Abstract

The Biddenham Loop, some 200 ha of gravel terrace defined by a meander of the Great Ouse to the west of Bedford, abounds in crop marks and plough zone artefacts. Investigations of the area include 8 ha of open area excavation plus more extensive fieldwalking, geophysical survey and aerial photograph analysis. The most important result of the investigations is the evidence for continuity, rather than discontinuity, in the evolution of the landscape. Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments were incorporated into the middle Bronze Age field systems and some continued to be the focus of burials. These fields continued in to the middle Iron Age and even the Romano-British period. For the Roman to Saxon transition it is significant that the majority of the evidence for early Saxon settlement occurs in the vicinity of Romano-British settlements. No exact parallels are known in Britain for the late Iron Age ritual complex on the north edge of the area, although the arrangement is similar to a number found in northern France.

Mike Luke is a project manager with Albion Archaeology, based in Bedford, and will be giving us a whistlestop tour of the extensive finds on the Biddenham Loop, including the latest results.